The Darkest Hours
by jl4223
Summary: Sequel to "Three Days Until Dawn:" Loki now had Odin's throne, Cecelia had her life back on Earth, but the prophecy that Mimir made to both would bind them together for all time (Takes places "Thor: The Dark World").
1. Chapter 1- Loki

**Thanks for reading "Three Days Until Dawn" and for continuing the story here. Welcome to Part 2: "The Darkest Hours."**

**As always, reviews are appreciated and for those who followed the story here: thank you! I hope you like it… :-)**

Loki

I sat on Odin's throne, the perfect duplicate of the old man, and watched my brother walk away from me. He was halfway down the great hall and well out of earshot when I dropped my facade. "No. Thank you."

He couldn't hear me, and I held back a mirthful grin, but only barely.

Finally. My birthright was mine. And Thor's sense of duty had made it all too easy.

The first few weeks passed quickly, with the usual rightful duties of a king. Every morning, hour after tedious hour, I sat on my throne dispensing peasant justice through formal court sessions. At first it was a joy to use my wit for once, and I found I had quite the knack for discerning the truth within the most difficult cases. Some who came to me, particular the nobility, were aghast at the severity of my rulings, but justice had been lax on Asgard for far, far too long.

But after a while the annoyance at having to continue this ridiculous facade was beginning to wear on me. Odin's aging features weren't nearly as attractive as my own handsome face, and one morning, I'd simply had enough.

I'd just finished assisting a widow in reclaiming her farmland from a landlord tyrant (I decided to have the landlord flayed in the center of town because, why not?), when yet another sheep herder came forward, complaining about how a nobleman named Fradul was restricting his tenant rights.

"Your majesty, I must have the right to pass through Fradul's most fertile land." The herder whined like an insolent child. "Sheep aren't like goats. They cannot climb the rocky terrain to go around his boundaries. And his land borders on my master's."

"Is your master here?"

The herder shook his head.

I made a note to seek out this herder's "master" and fling the whip at him myself. Honestly, it's times like this that I almost _missed_ the Chitauri.

"And what does Fradul have to say about this?" I said without bothering to keep the boredom from my voice.

Fradul stepped out from the shadows, draped almost exclusively in golden attire. "Oh, Great and Powerful Odin…"

"Stop." I stood abruptly, and the every person in the throne room took a step back. I could smell their trepidation, and I smiled my first genuine smile in weeks. "Why do you call me 'great' when it is obvious you have no respect for my authority?"

Fradul gaped, opening and closing his obese lips like a dying fish.

I turned to the sheep herder. "From now on, you will herd goats. Your sheep are now the property of the Asgardian throne."

The herder's eyes widened with incredulity. "But—"

I held up a hand to silence his incessant mewling, and I did it so quickly I almost sent a blast of dark magic straight through his heart. Wouldn't _that_ have silenced the masses?

Fradul the Noble smirked over at his lesser, which just infuriated me all the more. I turned to the bovine patrician, and the look I gave from "Odin's" one eye could have burnt a hole through Fradul's soul. He swallowed the lump in his throat and kowtowed right at the base of the steps leading to my throne.

_That_ broadened my smile.

"As for you Fradul," I said. "You will pick the choicest lamb from the herder's flock, cook it up for him, and serve it to him and his family. If you do not, you will hang on the morrow."

Those lips began moving again. I could have turned him into a trout right there, but he cowered and scurried out with the herder.

Another lesser stepped up to demand justice, but I walked right past him. If I didn't leave the throne room at once, my facade would drop, and there would be peasant blood gushing down Asgard's precious gold stone halls.

I strode to the second floor, far from the broad expanse of fools who would probably wait in my throne room until they rotted away from ennui. As I came to the top of the stairs, Sif passed me. Her warrior armor, so out of place on a woman, gleamed in the sunlight. She caught my eye and bowed low.

I grinned back at her, feeling a deep sense of personal satisfaction and wondering how far I dare use my influence to bend her to my will. No, I decided. Sif wasn't worth the effort it would take to even get disrobed if I was so inclined. Perhaps I'd wed her to Thor.

I strolled to the lip of the balcony and looked out onto the courtyard. Young Asgardian warriors practiced sword fighting below, their nimble feet dancing across the stones. I'm not sure how long I stood there, looking out at this peculiar facet of my kingdom, but suddenly Thor's blustering footsteps came toward me, waking me from my pleasant daydreams of absolute power.

It took self-control not to turn before he approached. I hated having my back to a possible adversary, but Odin would have no such compulsions.

Thor moved to stand next to me. He waited for several long moments before he spoke. "You cannot deny Loki's death forever."

"No, I cannot." I surpassed a laugh as I turned to look at the one I'd called _brother_ for all those years. Once again, I'd overestimated his intellect. He was talking about the "Loki" who had died, in reality a simple guard from Odin's court who'd had the misfortune of stumbling upon me as I healed on the dark rocks of Svartalfheim.

"Will there be a funeral?" Thor asked softly.

"No. Why should there be?" I stared at Thor through Odin's one eye and watched my brother grow angrier.

"He saved my life, and the life of the woman I love."

"That he did, but not for your sake, I'm afraid. He did it for vengeance, for Frigga. Not for you, and certainly not for love."

"Did you believe him incapable of love?"

Thor's question gave me pause, and it was an effort to hold back my emotions. "Incapable? No. He loved his mother."

"He loved a human woman as well. Someone on Earth."

_What?_

I turned to stare at my brother with true incredulity, no farce needed. "And who might that be?"

"Her name is Cecelia Jinn. She's an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least she was before Loki's interference. I know not if she is still in their employ."

Did Thor honestly believe I cared for that witless girl? For the first time in my long life, words failed me.

He must have mistook my silence for Odin's thoughtful introspection because when I finally weighed out how to answer him, Thor was gone.

I stared back out at the young men brandishing swords in mock combat. I had once stood on those bright stones alongside my brother. I had never taken to swordplay the way he had, and when we were young, he mocked me for clinging to our mother. But Frigga was dead now, and nothing could replace the hole she'd left behind. Not even Odin's throne, though sitting on that glorious chair certainly helped.

Odin's ravens cawed at me from their perch on the upper balcony. I'd forgotten about those infernal birds. Muninn and Huginn. Memory and Thought. When I was growing up as the forgotten son, I had despised their spying beady eyes, always watching my every step. But now as "Odin," perhaps they could be useful.

I held up an arm for one of them to come and perch.

Neither did.

I glared at them, and they gazed at me with identical looks of accusation.

"Where are the rest of the rune stones?" I hissed. "Surely, one of you foul creatures must know?" Thor was gone, and there was no one in the near vicinity to hear my question.

_We're watching you._

I'm not sure which bird spoke. I gave them both a crude gesture I'd learned from my time on Earth and pivoted to stroll back into the throne room.

I'd spent far too many lonely and silent hours on that throne, thinking about my next conquest. Surely if three runes had been located from the feeble attempts of humans, I could find the other twenty-one. Once I had them in my possession, I would be able to vanquish Midgard while hardly lifting a finger. Unlike using the uncontrollable power of the Tesseract, rune stone markings were pure Asgardian magic.

_You will never get those stones, my son._

Odin.

I sneered as Odin's heed filtered through to me. It looked as if I would have to strengthen the enchantments on his prison. _Shut up, Old Man. Your time is done._

Inside Odin's mind, I could hear him chuckle. _We'll see._


	2. Chapter 2- Cecelia

**Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently for this next chapter. I've had a lot on my plate work-wise. Hope you enjoy it. **

Cecelia-

If Loki ever walked back into Cecelia's life again, she was going to _murder_ him.

Okay, maybe not. She didn't think she had it in her to murder anyone. But she was extremely pissed.

When she'd walked into her apartment after hanging out next to a talking well and being manipulated by the god of mischief, she had thought that would be the end of it. Loki had handed her the three rune stones he had used to get his fortune told (a _fortune_, for God's sake — as if they were at a Renaissance Fair and not in the middle of outer space) and then he'd happily gone back into chains.

Loki was a nut job, she had concluded. That's all there was to it.

But when she'd seen the ring of Draupnir sitting innocently on her night stand, her heart had sank with the realization that it wasn't over, that he had enjoyed pulling her strings. It was one of his tricks. Had to be. And all of Loki's tricks came back to bite _someone_ in the ass. She could only hope that she'd seen the last of him. Thor had taken him back to Asgard and with any luck, Loki was sitting inside a prison cell never to return to Earth again.

Cecelia thought about the best way to get Draupnir and it's spawn of golden rings back to S.H.I.E.L.D. She'd wanted to return the rune stones as well, but then she'd looked down at the three smooth stones, still covered in Loki's blood, and she changed her mind. Loki himself had been awe-struck by the mark on her hand. If she could learn about the rune marks and how to use these stones, she'd never have to worry about someone like Loki coming into her life again.

She'd spent the last few months scouring the Internet and checking out the few books on Norse mythology the library offered in order to practice casting the rune stones. During those months, she'd heard about a portal opening between Earth and other worlds of Midgard somewhere over London, but it escaped her notice. She worked her normal hours (though there wasn't much to do in the underground cells now that all of the prisoners had escaped), came home to devour knowledge on Norse runes, and would drop into a deep slumber sometime after midnight.

Then the gossip began.

It started as most rumors do: gradually, softly, and sprinkled with truth, until nothing true remained. Every time she stepped into a corridor within S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, all conversation would cease and all eyes would rest on her. She'd stroll out of earshot and the whispers would pick back up again. No matter how many times she tried to explain that she had been used by Loki, that she'd wanted nothing to do with him, her words fell upon deaf eyes like unwanted drops of rain.

They didn't believe her. No one did.

More weeks past and nothing changed. But the more she learned about her heritage as a daughter of a Norse goddess, the more she became okay with it all. This was her life, and with any luck, it would simply continue on as normal.

She should've known better than to trust in luck.

It was Saturday at 9AM, and Cecelia was having a delicious dream, when there was a sharp rap on her front door. With a yawn, she slipped a bathrobe over her pajamas and padded to the peephole. One glance outside and her stomach fell.

"Agent Coulson." Cecelia nodded to her superior as she opened the door.

"Agent Jinn." Coulson returned the nod and just like that, he and two other armed agents were inside her apartment.

Cecelia's first thought was of the rune stones. They were still sitting on her dresser next to the book "The Art of Norse Magic." She considered stalling the agents in order to hide the stones, but it was too late now. Any strange behavior on her part would make Coulson immediately suspicious. Besides, she didn't know for sure that was why he was there.

"Is there anything else here that should be taken back to HQ?" Coulson's knowing eyes studied Cecelia's face.

She swallowed her nervousness. Apparently, the rumors had made their way up the chain of command and right into Agent Coulson's ear. Terrific.

"Nope." She smiled through the lie. She didn't want to part with the stones. Not yet. Last night she'd actually turned herself into a redhead, and she had planned to spend the morning trying to figure out how to turn herself back into a blond.

"When did you dye your hair?" Coulson asked. He stepped further into the living room.

"Yesterday." In all the books she'd read about Norse myths and the gods, Loki was usually depicted as a redhead or even a strawberry blond, yet when she'd known him, his hair had been black. Maybe he'd performed the same magic she had at some point and was never able to change it back. Hopefully, she'd fare better.

"Agent Coulson?"

The voice had come from an agent inside her bedroom. She closed her eyes in defeat as Coulson walked straight past her. A minute later, he was in front of her again with the rune stones in his hand.

"Care to explain, Agent Jinn?" All attempts at being friendly were now past. His face was as hard as the enchanted rocks resting inside his palm.

"Apparently, Loki had a bit of fun at my expense."

"A bit? From everything I've heard, you had a lot more fun than that."

One of the two agents held out a S.H.I.E.L.D. containment bag. Agent Coulson slipped the stones inside and nodded to his inferiors. The bag was sealed shut.

"How many books on magic do you have?"

"Just two." And she'd had to buy those two online. The other three had been returned back to the library already.

Agent Coulson shot her a disgusted look. "Seems like you and Loki really hit it off. As such, S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot trust you with a security clearance or access to our archives."

For a moment, she swore her heart stopped beating. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that effective immediately, you are back at Level One. You will report to work on Monday—"

"To do what? Clean toilets?" She felt her anger rise inside her.

The agent holding the containment bag cleared his throat. "Uh, Agent Coulson?"

But Coulson's attention remained fixated on Cecelia. "If that's what it takes to teach you loyalty—"

"_Loyalty?_ I was almost raped and _killed_ trying to protect S.H.I.E.L.D. from an outbreak of Kree!" Her anger flamed into a burst of rage.

"Agent Coulson!"

"_What?"_ Coulson turned to the agent holding the containment bag and stopped as his gaze locked on the bag.

Coulson backed away as the bag glowed an angry white. Suddenly, it started to vibrate, and the face of the agent holding onto it turned white.

Agent Coulson stepped right in front of her. It was the only thing that broke her gaze away from whatever unbelievable magic was happening inside that bag. "Stop this, Cecelia!"

Her mouth hung open in disbelief. "I swear, I'm not doing anything!"

He didn't believe her. If the incredulity on his face wasn't proof enough of that fact, his hand reaching for his gun certainly was.

But before Cecelia could utter another word of protest, the bag simply… exploded.

A surge of power slammed outward, the heat of its energy knocking everyone flat including Cecelia. She rolled next to her coffee table just in case bits of rock started raining down on everything. In a vague recess of her mind, she wondered if she'd ever get her deposit back from her landlord after this.

She lay there against the carpet, listening, anticipating that something else supernatural would happen. There was nothing in the air but silence. She stood on shaky legs and gazed around her, expecting to see chaos, but the only thing different about her apartment were the three agents lying unconscious on her living room floor.

"Oh, no." She bent over Agent Coulson, and choked back an angry sob. Her hand went to his pulse.

Alive.

She crawled to the other two agents. One had been standing near the door. He, too, was unconscious. The one that had been too terrified to drop the bag now no longer held it. But at least he was alive. They all were. Thank God.

The containment bag rested quietly on the carpet. Cecelia touched the material, expecting another wild burst of magic, but nothing happened. She opened the bag to find the three rune stones resting at the bottom, and she frowned down at them.

She hadn't used any magic. And she was damn sure Agent Coulson and his crew hadn't either. So, what had caused the runes to suddenly act out like petulant children?

The stones appeared the same as they always did. The only change was the pale glow emitting from Loki's old blood stains which had turned the marks etched on the surface to a pale reddish-brown color.

Loki's blood.

There was power in blood, she had learned, which was why Loki had cut his hand to activate the power of the runes and force Mimir to reveal his future. Somehow her anger had awakened Loki's blood on the stones.

If there was any human emotion that could trigger power to come alive in the depths of Loki's blood, it was anger. She'd learned that, too.

The armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents around her were still asleep. She prayed they weren't in a coma. She'd definitely be fired when Agent Coulson woke up, to hell with being demoted back to Level One clearance. The only way she'd see the inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. now was behind the forcefield of an underground cell.

She stepped over the agents and darted into her closet where a black duffel bag sat empty on the floor. She yanked it out and started stuffing a change of clothes inside. There was only one place she could go to get help, assuming he would even answer.

It wasn't until she'd finished packing clothes, her Norse books, and the two hundred in cash she kept buried in her sock drawer for emergencies that she realized she hadn't yet gotten dressed that morning. She looked down at her pajamas and robe, shaking her head. Getting dressed in jeans and a shirt took less than a minute, but her heart pounded the entire time. She was running away. She'd never run from anything in her life, but she didn't dare stay. Who would believe the truth?

She threw her duffel over a shoulder as she raced toward the door of her apartment. When she got to the handle, she stopped and turned.

The rune stones.

With a heavy heart, she went back to the containment bag and reached inside for the three stones. She slipped them into her pocket and fled her apartment without looking back.


	3. Chapter 3- Cecelia

Cecelia

It was only an hour away from Cecelia's apartment to the nearest international airport, and she spent the entire drive terrified that the authorities would pull her over and take her away. Once inside the terminal, she bought a ticket for Iceland with only one layover in Frankfurt, Germany. She slid through the TSA security checkpoint to the departure gates, hoping to leave the United States unnoticed.

She got her wish.

She kept her hair red as she traveled to Germany, hoping that if S.H.I.E.L.D. circulated her official picture with blond hair, she could buy herself some time. Once inside the Frankfurt flughafen, Cecelia went immediately to the restroom. She had just over five hours until her next flight left, and she wasn't about to take any chances.

When she was alone inside the restroom, she pulled out the All-Father rune stone and began to chant. Her right hand cast the magic from the rune and her hair flashed, turning a deep chestnut. She thought about changing her entire appearance in a mirage, the way Loki seemed to do so effortlessly, but decided against it. Magic that all-encompassing took an incredible amount of self-control and power, two things that she unfortunately hadn't mastered yet. Besides, if anyone bumped up against her, the facade would drop. And if there was one thing she could count on in the crowded hub like Frankfurt, it was that someone would almost certainly bump into her.

So, Cecelia kept moving, never stepping inside a store where there might be a camera. She was even afraid to rest on the seats inside a departure lounge for fear that her mask wouldn't work and someone from S.H.E.I.L.D.'s International offices would recognize her. S.H.E.I.L.D. had agents everywhere. She walked for the entire five hours until her flight for Iceland boarded. As soon as she collapsed into her window seat, she fell into a deep sleep.

It took almost twenty-four hours to travel to Hesteyri in Iceland. And it took almost as long to find the exact spot Loki had taken her to, but find it she did. Now that she'd been studying up on rune marks, she knew what Loki had done the last time she'd been here. She bent over and scooped up living pine needles (they had to be living), and then managed to scrape pliable sap with twigs from the trunk of the nearby evergreens. She didn't yet have the magical prowess Loki did; he was well over a thousand years old. But thanks to all of the books she'd read, she had at least some of his knowledge.

Night had fallen by the time she started weaving. It was almost June now, and the northern lights were a no longer visible, so she worked by the light of the full moon. When the wreath was complete, she placed it on the ground with the three rune stones around it. She didn't dare cut the mark on her palm and hold the wreath to it as Loki had done. She had no idea where she'd end up if she tried that.

When the circle was complete, she placed her uncut palm over the wreath and shouted. "Loki!"

Her palm burned with light, and the air around her crackled with energy. She could feel electricity pulsate through the air.

"Loki Laufeyson!"

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in answer, but she wasn't afraid. Not anymore.

"Come down here and face me, you son of a bitch!"

The night was alive with thunderous sound. Lightning pierced the sky, and the wind whipped her dark hair around her face. She closed her eyes and waited.

And the air went still.

She dropped her hand and looked around her. Nothing. Loki hadn't appeared. She fell to her knees and didn't bother to stifle a cry of frustration. Coming here, engaging the magic, it had all been for nothing. Now, she'd get thrown into a S.H.E.I.L.D. cell and left to rot her life away. She wondered if someone would bring her any books, as she'd done with Loki.

"Cecelia Jinn."

The male voice that spoke from the outer edge of the darkness sounded familiar. Cecelia stood as the man strode closer. When she recognized Thor's red cape and armor, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Heimdall's all-seeing eyes watch the Nine Realms," Thor said by way of greeting. He stopped a few feet away from her.

Whatever the hell _that_ meant. "What are you doing here? Where's Loki?"

Thor didn't reply. In fact, he looked away from her, his gaze seemingly enamored by the pine forest just a stone's throw away. "These are sad times."

"You ain't kidding. I lost my job, and pretty much lost my mind, all thanks to your brother. I want to see his face one last time before I use what I've learned to hurt the son of a—."

"My brother is dead."

Cecelia felt gut-punched. She took a step back, then another. "Loki's… dead?"

Thor nodded. "He died in Svartalfheim while trying to prevent their leader from casting the Nine Realms into utter darkness. He saved Asgard, saved the life of my Jane. He died a hero."

She couldn't believe it, particularly the hero part. She looked away. She should feel pleased, happy even. She hated Loki. Didn't she?

"Miss Jinn?"

She swallowed her mixed emotions and forced herself to look into Thor's troubled blue eyes. "Is he really dead?"

"I'm afraid he is. I've convinced All-Father to hold a funeral in Loki's honor. My brother deserves a ceremony that will send him to his rest."

She agreed. Whatever else Loki had been — a murderer, a liar, a thorn in her side— he deserved a proper burial, whatever that might entail in Asgardian culture.

"Will you accompany me to Asgard to attend his funeral, Miss Jinn? My brother had a fondness for you."

She swallowed a snort, not wanting to offend Thor who was obviously grieving for his brother, but Loki had no fondness for her. She was sure of it. He used people, humans especially, and he had used her.

"Did Loki get a chance to tell you about my parentage?" she asked.

Thor shook his head. "He did not."

"He said that Freyja was my mother."

"Ah." Thor gifted her with a soft smile. "You do favor her. I can see the resemblance."

"Is it true?"

"We have technology in Asgard that can easily interpret your DNA. If it is true, you deserve some answers."

No shit. She lifted her palm to show Thor the rune mark on her hand. She had no idea if he could see it in the moonlight, but his eyes were better than any human's, and he gazed thoughtfully at it before he spoke.

"That is her mark." He nodded to himself, as if making up his mind. "You must come to Asgard. I will introduce you to your mother, and then you shall attend Loki's funeral. Jane is already in Asgard, so you shall not be wanting for human companionship."

All her life, Cecelia had craved a family: a caring mother, real sisters and brothers, a stable existence. Her life on Earth was over, and who knew what new adventures waited for her beyond the stars? It took all of two seconds to make up her mind. "Okay. I'll go."

Thor raised Mjölnir to the heavens and held out his hand to Cecelia. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to be pulled against him. Thor's body was a solid mass of muscle, so unlike the wiry frame of his brother. Cecelia shook her head to clear the thought of resting against Loki from her mind. Obviously, coming back to this forest had been a mistake. Loki was dead now. End of story.

The Bifrost opened, and before she could form any possible regrets, they were on their way to Asgard.


	4. Chapter 4- Loki

**Loki's POV is back! And things are about to get interesting…**

Loki

Perhaps the one good thing I can say about having the power of a throne is that no one dares intrude upon me if I want to be left alone. And after dealing with Odin's abominable fowl anytime I go out of doors, I _needed_ to collect my thoughts. Odin was plotting something, I was sure of it. I should have killed him when I had the chance…

"All-Father."

Please, _not_ Thor. The threads of my patience could handle anyone but him at the moment, but I forced myself to smile. "My son."

Thor grinned and dropped to a knee in response. That cheered me up a bit. He had his human whore Jane Foster with him. With any luck, they would go off to copulate and leave me in peace. I waved a hand in dismissal, but then Thor stood aside. The smile died on my lips.

Cecelia Jinn stood completely still in that solemn way of hers. Her hair was now brown, an intriguing change. There was no fear in her eyes as she gazed up at me. She bowed her head slightly in deference, and it was all I could do not to lose my temper.

Gods, what was _she doing here?_

"And who is this, might I inquire?" I asked pointedly. I commended myself on keeping my voice calm and even, but if my gaze were an Asgardian blade, Thor would be minced meat all over the bricks.

"This is Cecelia Jinn, Father. She is here for Loki's funeral. Loki grew quite… fond of her on Earth."

"Did he?" A natural smile spread across my lips. "Did he indeed?"

Thor frowned.

I nodded to the girl. "Welcome to Asgard, Miss Jinn."

"Thank you, your… highness?"

I chuckled. I couldn't help it.

"Loki's funeral will be at dusk tomorrow," I said. "For now, I assume you want to be settled. My son can show you to your chambers."

Cecelia stepped closer to my throne, and it was all I could do not to visibly shrink back at her approach, though I wasn't sure why she would have such an effect on me. I wasn't disgusted by her, far from it. And I certainly didn't fear her. She couldn't see through my enchantments, but I glanced at the palm that held her rune mark even so.

"I would like to meet my mother," she said.

Wouldn't Freyja simply _love_ meeting one of her mortal whelps? It was all I could do not to laugh. "I'll call her in immediately."

"Wait!" Cecelia took a deep breath, as if summoning courage from a well deep inside herself. "Not so fast. I should… change, maybe? Look more presentable?"

Had I truly been Odin, Cecelia would have been punished for her insolence. In the background, I could see Thor grow tense. Jane gasped and took a step back. But Cecelia was no threat to me. "I understand. Perhaps you'd like to come back here when you are ready? I can have Freyja summoned then."

In the background, I could see Jane studying me, her forehead crinkled in thought. "I don't remember you being so kind to me when we first met."

Jane Foster certainly had spirit, I'll give her that. I wondered how Odin had treated her. He always did have a disdain for weakness, and few creatures are weaker than the human female, though I suspected Odin's true issue was in Jane as an unsuitable mate for his one and only son. I considered mentioning all of this just to anger her but decided against it.

Ignoring Jane, I turned my eye back to Cecelia. "I shall have servants bring suitable attire to your chambers, Miss Jinn."

"Cecelia, please." She stepped closer to my throne, only a few steps away from touching me now.

"Cecelia." I managed to say her name without any apprehension escaping my lips, but if she touched me, everything would be lost. I managed a smile.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply again, perhaps summoning some new reserve of strength. But when she opened them again, a scowl captured her features. "That's strange."

I should've dismissed her, but my curiosity was piqued. "What's strange?"

"It smells like…"

I waited.

"Anise," she finally said. She inhaled deeply. "I haven't smelled that since…"

"Earth?" I asked, hoping that her idiocy would be apparent to everyone.

"No." Her eyes narrowed. "Since Loki held me against him in Iceland one night. Loki smelled like that."

Thor frowned, and for a brief moment, I was terrified Cecelia would reach up and touch me, ending my facade, my dreams.

I shouldn't have been worried. I could always count on my idiotic brother to break the mood.

"What does anise smell like?" Thor asked.

Cecelia stepped back, causing me to breath a little easier. She opened her mouth to reply, but Jane cut her off.

"Black licorice," Jane answered. She was no fool, that one. Neither woman was. What human females lacked in physical strength, they certainly made up for in wit. Time to end this fascination with the way I _smelled_, for the love of chaos.

"How fascinating," I said. My eyes narrowed at them both. "Though I doubt you'll have to worry about smelling Loki anymore."

Cecelia looked as if I'd physically slapped her.

I didn't stop to consider her reaction. Instead, I stood and left the room, no longer caring about the correct protocol Odin would follow. Every muscle within me trembled with rage. To think Cecelia had recognized me by scent. I always thought humans were animals, but now I had tangible proof.

"Odin!"

It was Cecelia. Was she following me? I cursed under my breath and retreated as quickly as I dared to my private balcony around the golden curve of the throne room.

"Lord Odin, please wait!"

Had I simply dismissed Cecelia, or used my magic to disappear to Odin's private chambers, perhaps everything would have been fine. But instead I allowed myself to walk away, and in doing so, walked straight into Odin's trap.

Muninn and Huginn were waiting for me, but before I could turn them into blazing torches in the sky, they swooped down and attacked. I put up my arm to block them from clawing at my face and heard a scream of alarm from behind me.

Cecelia _had_ followed. She jumped forward and stood between the ravens and me. With nothing but courage aiding her, she tried to fight them off.

I knew Odin cared nothing for mortals if they stood between him and his plans, but I had no idea how much. Those wretched birds continued their assault despite Cecelia's intervention, their cruel claws tearing at the poor girl in order to get to me. One of the birds, Huginn maybe, managed to grasp an ounce of her flesh. She cried out in pain as her blood dripped down upon me.

It was only a matter of time before Muninn and Huginn pierced through my disguise. Without considering the consequences I pulled her away, my body shielding hers from their sharp talons and insatiable beaks.

We fell together, Cecelia and I, and as I landed on top of her to protect her frail form from those damnable birds, my magic shimmered, and I knew she could now see me for who I truly was. Her eyes softened and widened with incredulity, and her mouth parted in question.

"Loki?" The voice was Thor's. He had caught up to us, and that one word filled the air with shock, anger, fear, and disbelieving joy all at once.

I glanced up at the look of disbelief on his face, mirrored in the gazes of Cecelia and Jane, and forced myself to smile. "Why, hello brother. Nice to see you again."


	5. Chapter 5- Thor

**This one is pretty short. I apologize for the length, but realized that I had to add a chapter about Cecelia meeting her mother Freyja before Loki's fate can truly be decided. Enjoy! :-)**

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Thor

Thor's mind was in turmoil. It had been two days since Muninn and Huginn had attacked "Odin the False" as the people were now calling Loki's facade, and Thor still had trouble believing the truth of everything that had transpired. He lay beside Jane, his beautiful Jane, who'd consoled him both with her body and her wisdom. Thor tried to take some solace from the gifts she offered him this night but nothing could stop his worries.

"All-Father means to kill him," Thor said. He sat up in bed, and the soles of his feet rested on the marble floor. The moonlight drifted through the translucent curtains hanging from the tops of the windows, highlighting the entire bedchamber in the gentle hues of nightfall. He clasped his hands in front of him and stared down. If he'd been a praying man, he would have asked the gods for help now, but they never seemed to listen to him.

He glanced over at Jane. She pressed her lips together in a way that meant she was holding back.

"What is it, my love?" he asked.

Jane pursed her lips together. "Loki may have saved my life against Malekith, but he never cared about us. He cared about vengeance."

Thor couldn't disagree with her, but it hurt hearing the words all the same.

"And who knows how long he would've pretended to be Odin?" she asked.

Thor had no answer for that either. "Had All-Father been the one sitting upon that throne when I returned from destroying the Aether in London, he would have placed me in chains for my disobedience."

Jane didn't argue with that statement, Thor noted. Instead, she stroked his naked back with tentative fingers. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax under her delicate touch. Minutes passed, and a gentle breeze from the ocean below their balcony stirred at his hair. Normally, Thor would've been content to simply breathe in the scent of his home, of Jane, and make love to her until the dawn. But not this night.

"Where did you find Odin?" Jane asked softly.

"In a cave, a half day's journey from here. Muginn and Huginn led me right to their master. All-Father was bound and gagged, malnourished but alive. Loki could have killed him."

In fact, Thor had believed Loki had done _precisely_ that once the shock of seeing his brother had worn off. His angry accusations, his demands about Odin, had only managed to frighten Cecelia and Jane. Thor's wrath hadn't moved his brother in the slightest. Loki had simply sat in stunned silence, glaring at Odin's ravens. He even managed to singe Huginn's wing with a blast of magic before Thor stepped in.

Jane's hand moved up Thor's bicep and squeezed gently as if passing some of her strength onto him. "Loki deserves to be punished," she said.

"But death?" Thor stood abruptly, and Jane sighed as she looked up at him. "All-Father wants his head. Does Loki deserve to die for what he did?"

"It's not my place to say." She answered with hesitation, a woman who obviously had her own opinion about what should occur but saying nothing as a sign of respect.

It was a wise reply. Thor's anger deflated around him and he slumped back onto the bed. "We fought the Dark Elves together. He could have betrayed me that day, but he did not. I love him still."

"How's Cecelia doing?" Jane asked.

If she was attempting to direct his thoughts elsewhere, it worked. "Cecelia is as shocked as we all are. And I believe she feels guilt for outing Loki."

"Does she love him?"

Thor shrugged. "I do not believe so. She seems to care for him in some small measure though."

"Has she met her mother yet?"

"Not yet. She goes to Freyja on the morrow."

"I wonder what Freyja will say." Jane pulled the coverlet over her breasts. "I hope she's nice to Cecelia."

"As do I." It was all Thor could say without speaking ill of the lovely Freyja. As charming as the Asgardian female could be to men, and Odin in particular, Freyja was not without her faults. And kindness in particular was not one of her strengths. Thor could only hope Cecelia wasn't disappointed in her "mother."

"Maybe I could take Cecelia to the market and show her around Asgard after she's met Freyja?"

Thor nodded. "An excellent idea."

"You know," Jane smiled. "When Loki was on the throne, I should've known something wasn't right. He was certainly nicer to her than—" She stopped, and when she met Thor's gaze, she had the decency to blush.

Thor rubbed her back. "It's alright. All-Father is not without his faults as well." He touched Jane's thick dark hair and sighed. "I must save my brother's life, Jane. There must be a way."

She yawned and rolled over. "When you talk to Odin tomorrow, I'm sure you'll think of something."

He lay down beside her and pulled her back against his chest, curling her body into his. "Spooning," isn't that what humans called it? He smiled. It was an accurate term. Earth had so many of them, and he'd grown to love them all. Within moments, he could feel Jane's breathing grow regular and soft in the pattern of restful sleep, but he remained awake and alone with his troubled thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6- Cecelia

**Thanks for waiting so patiently for the next chapter. I've had a lot going on, but whenever I get to my computer, I breathe a sigh of contentment at finding myself back on Asgard. **

**They **_**must**_** be having better weather than here. :-)**

Cecelia

Cecelia woke up early the next morning and watched from her window as the Asgardian sun rose over the rainbow bridge. The sun's rays bounced off of the bridge's surface, reflecting colors she'd never seen before on Earth. It was breathtaking. She allowed herself time to simply absorb the beauty before heading down to breakfast with Jane and Thor.

The god of thunder looked troubled as he stared down at his plate, but stood when she entered the room. He even managed a polite smile that Cecelia knew was for her benefit. Jane offered to show her around the village later, and Cecelia happily agreed. It would be nice to get away from the drama of the palace, or whatever the hell this huge building was formally called.

"You look nice," Jane said with a smile.

Cecelia returned the gesture, and then immediately reached up to scratch under the aqua sash wrapped around her upper body. "It's a nice color, but these wraps are killer. The slippers are okay, though. Much more comfortable than my tennis shoes. Do all Asgardian women dress like this?"

"Pretty much." Jane tugged at her own collar, and the women exchanged a grin.

"Since I'm dressed for the occasion, will I finally get to meet Odin today?" Cecelia asked.

Jane shot Thor a quick look of apprehension before the god of thunder cleared his throat. "Not today," he rumbled.

Cecelia took a bite of cheese to hide her embarrassment at what had to have been an obvious blunder. Maybe Odin was still recovering from whatever Loki had done to him?

Whenever she thought about Loki, waves of emotions tumbled through her at lightning speed, each one clamoring for space inside her heart. She felt guilty that she'd been his downfall, for some crazy reason. Maybe because he could have left her on that balcony to be attacked by Odin's nasty birds, but instead had shielded her from them. For the life of her, she had no idea why.

She was on firm footing with regards to understanding why Loki came back to Asgard, however. Mimir must have told Loki that he'd have the throne upon his return. It was the only reason why the god of mischief would've purposefully chosen to go back into chains all those months ago.

And she had ruined it for him.

Not that it was her fault, she chastised herself, and this was where anger swept in. She hadn't known it was Loki sitting on the throne, at least not on a conscious level. But _something_ in her subconscious must have sensed it was him, even before she smelled that night in Iceland on his skin. She didn't know why she'd decided to follow him from Odin's throne room that fateful day, but now that she thought about it, something in her must have seen through his magic. Was she getting that powerful? Or was she simply that desperate?

She sighed out loud.

Jane pursed her lips and smiled across the table at Cecelia. "Are you going to meet your mom today?"

Cecelia blew out a slow breath and nodded. Another facet of her visit that caused her stomach to knot up with tension.

"Don't be nervous." Jane reached over to squeeze Cecelia's hand. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled to meet you. If I had a daughter like you, I know I would be."

Cecelia absorbed Jane's words like a starfish suffocating on a beach craves the welcoming waves of the ocean. She would face her fears today and meet her mother. And afterwards, maybe she would have a reason to finally smile.

Thirty minutes later Cecelia stood in front of the giant door at the end of Syrthall Hall. The door was shut, and even though it was well past breakfast and all of the nobles were up and about, no one stirred within. Cecelia prayed she wasn't waking her mother, took one last deep breath, and knocked on the solid oak.

"Yes?" The voice that answered her knock was soft and feminine. It reminded Cecelia of lilies dancing in a soft breeze.

"Um, my name is Cecelia Jinn." She felt like an idiot talking through a door.

"Are you one of the new servants?" The voice was less inviting now. "If so, you may leave your wares outside and come when you are called."

Cecelia was now pissed enough to kick Mommy Dearest's door down, but instead she counted to ten and exhaled all of her anger in one rushed breath. "I'm not a servant," she shouted to the locked door in front of her. "I'm your daughter."

The voice inside did not reply.

Cecelia counted to ten again. "Hello?"

Gentle footfalls came to the other side of the door. Cecelia heard the sound of a heavy bolt being thrown back, and a woman wearing barely more than silk gauze opened the door and waited.

Cecelia's breath caught in her throat, and she tried not to stare. Her mother was… beautiful. Other-worldly gorgeous. Her hair was blond and long, trailing in thick wavy ripples down her bare back. Her patrician face looked as if it had been sculpted by a master, and her cobalt blue eyes regarded Cecelia with a disdain that Cecelia might have shown a termite inspector.

"Who are you truly?" The woman said with a sigh of exasperation. "And be quick about it. I'm expecting company."

Cecelia opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. For years, she'd dreamed about this moment as she bounced from foster home to foster home. She'd researched her birth mother in public libraries and google searches in a vain attempt to discover her roots. She even daydreamed about meeting her mother in person, maybe at her own home or in a quaint and cozy coffee shop. Her birth mother would've been looking for Cecelia, too. The two women would look at each other, and when their eyes met, they would cry and run to embrace each other. Okay, so maybe it was all a bit cheesy and unrealistic, but she was entitled to her dreams.

Instead of a pleasant dream from her youth, Cecelia was greeted by a nightmare. A nightmare with a terrible attitude wearing a slutty dress.

Cecelia snapped. Losing your job, your friends, and everything you once took for granted in life can have that effect. "I'm your daughter, _Mom_. Your _human_ daughter."

Before Freyja could speak, Cecelia pushed past her and walked inside her bedroom. A round and very feminine bed stood in the center of the room. Sheer purple curtains the color of wine fell loosely from hooks on the ceiling and hovered all around the mattress. A small sitting area was to the right under large windows that looked out upon the sea.

"How _dare_ you!" Freyja strode with the grace and speed of a gazelle as she moved in front of Cecelia.

Cecelia held up the palm holding the rune symbol.

"What is this?" Freyja swept closer, and her firm fingers pressed into the mark.

Cecelia flinched. Her mother may look dainty, but Freyja was stronger than she was. Cecelia didn't know much about Asgardian biology, but she was willing to bet that her birth mother could crush any prize-fighter from back home. "This is my mark," Cecelia said.

Freyja fingernails scraped lightly over Cecelia's palm. "And you were born with this?"

Cecelia nodded. "Apparently, it didn't appear until I touched a barrier with Asgardian technology."

"I see." Freyja dropped Cecelia's hand, her perfectly arched eyebrows furrowed. "You're the female Loki found on Midgard." Freyja moved casually around Cecelia, examining her like she was a piece of livestock at auction. It was unnerving. "Why do Asgard's princes suddenly have such a fascination with human women?" Freyja laughed softly.

Cecelia narrowed her eyes. "Maybe because human women are more fascinating than Asgardian ones?"

"Hmm." Freyja squeezed Cecelia's shoulder, and even though she wasn't trying to hurt Cecelia, it made her gasp. "Tell me," Freyja said. "Do you love Loki?"

"What? No!"

"And yet the prince gave you his cloak while on Earth, yes?"

"Who told you that?" Cecelia couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. Was Loki going around telling people they were a couple or something? If so, she'd head down to the dungeons and kill him herself.

"I overheard Thor speaking to some nobles in the dining hall yesterday." Freyja held up her hand as if waving away her tendency to eavesdrop. "Such a beautiful tradition to show allegiance to a woman, don't you agree?"

Freyja's sharp eyes studied Cecelia's face, but Cecelia refused to be goaded. "He wanted the power of the rune mark from your genetics." Cecelia used all her S.H.E.I.L.D. training to her advantage as she stared at her mother, trying to absorb any nonverbal cues Freyja gave, but made a mental note to dodge any more questions about her time with Loki.

"I know nothing about runes and magic," Freyja admitted. "But I do know you came here for his funeral. Strange that you would attend the funeral of a man who simply used you, isn't it?"

Cecelia said nothing.

"You have placed me in a… very unpleasant situation, daughter." The smile Freyja gave Cecelia was ice cold.

_Just imagine how I feel, bitch. _"In what way?"

"Your presence has been noted by the Asgardian nobility. They… mock me at table, whisper behind my back. Can you imagine?" Freyja's sculpted face twisted with hate as she turned away from Cecelia to look at the blue sky outside her window.

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept with a human."

Freyja whipped her head back, her eyes razing Cecelia. When she spoke, her words were dripping with sarcasm. "I have so enjoyed our chat, _daughter_, but perhaps it's time you returned to Midgard."

Cecelia locked her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. "Perhaps it's time you learned consequences for your actions. I think I'll stay, at least for a little while. I have Loki's execution to attend, after all." She pivoted on her slippered foot and walked slowly out of Freyja's room. It took everything in her power not to storm out like the child inside of her wanted to do.

She pushed past servants and nobles alike, drawing curious stares, but she paid no attention to them. When Cecelia finally made it safely back inside her guest quarters, she shut the door behind her and allowed the tears to come.


	7. Chapter 7- Thor

Thor

When Thor stepped into Odin's chamber right after breaking his fast with Jane and Cecelia, he was surprised to see his father wide-awake and leaning over the lip of his private balcony. He wondered where Huginn and Muginn were. The ravens hadn't left Odin's side since guiding Thor, Sif, and his Warriors Three to their master. Perhaps they were fluttering over the grounds, ever under Odin's watchful eye.

"Thor, my son. Come." Odin beckoned with a weathered hand, and Thor bowed low before meeting his father on the engraved stones that adorned as his balcony.

The weather was beautiful today, all golden sun and warmth. Thor wished his thoughts could reflect the weather. "How are you feeling, Father?"

"Better." Odin studied his son for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the waters beneath them. Odin's expansive chambers sat on the highest floor of the palace and looked out upon the waters that spilled over into the Bifrost. Thor wondered if Odin somehow could see Frigga's spirit hovering above the waters.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Odin asked. His eyes remained on the vista, as if what transpired now between him and Thor was not nearly as important as his own personal reflections. Perhaps they weren't.

"I have come to bargain for Loki's life."

"Ha!" Odin laughed out loud.

Thor drew up to his full height in annoyance. "Our mother—"

"_Your_ mother is not here to save Loki now, my son. And your words of loyalty to Loki will fall on deaf ears here. Your brother must face death. It is the only way to end his madness for glory and power." Odin's voice held the fervor of resolute justice.

Thor shook his head. "Father, you taught me what it was to be helpless once when you exiled me to Earth all those years ago. Do you not remember?"

"You and Loki are a different breed—"

"We are two sides of the same blade." Thor could feel himself losing the argument, and the helplessness almost overwhelmed him. "At least let me visit him in prison—"

"It is forbidden." Odin spat the words like a curse. "The last time you 'visited' your brother, you released him from his cell."

"Loki showed me mercy after my return from battling the Aether on Earth."

Odin said nothing, and Thor couldn't help but wonder: If All-Father had been sitting in Loki's place that day would he have shown Thor the same mercy for going against his wishes, for saving Jane and the citizens of Asgard? He glanced at Odin, now a shadow of the great ruler he had once been and thought not. Surely there had to be a way to save his brother the way Loki had saved him. And then, he knew.

"Father, the woman from Earth, Freyja's daughter…"

"The half-breed?" A sweet voice drifted in from the door of Odin's chamber

Both men turned to see Freyja stroll deeper inside the room. The lovely Asgardian smiled at the men, her long gossamer garment trailing behind her. Odin had always favored Freyja. She adored power and trinkets, and Odin had supplied her with both before he'd chosen to wed Frigga, if the rumors were to be believed.

Thor noticed Freyja's hair was slightly disheveled, her cheeks rosy, but it simply added to her beauty. If Loki were here, he would whisper a jest in Thor's ear as to which nobleman had enjoyed Freyja before their morning meal. The thought of never seeing his brother again, never hearing his jokes after all they had done together, made Thor's heart ache.

Freya padded over to where he and Odin stood, a soft smile on her face. Her footfalls made no sound on the Asgardian marble.

"How are you and your daughter getting on?" Odin held out a hand to Freyja. The goddess placed his weathered palm against the smooth skin of her face and kissed it before answering.

"We are getting along quite well. She is a sweet child." Freyja smiled, and in Thor's eyes, it looked like the smile of a predator. "Such a pity Cecelia cannot stay." Her beautiful full mouth frowned in a perfect pout. "I suppose she must go back to Earth, even if she _is_ one of us…"

Thor felt his spine stiffen. Odin could never resist Freyja's charms, especially now when the goddess's presence helped ease the bitterness of Frigga's death.

"What do you mean?" Odin asked.

"Oh, just that Cecelia has expressed her… affection for Loki."

Before Thor could argue the point, Freyja went on. "And perhaps having a woman Loki loves would distract him from any schemes he might attempt. Loki himself is a half-breed as is Cecelia." Freyja beamed as she watched Thor grimace at the suggestion.

"I know Cecelia is your daughter." Thor narrowed his eyes as he studied the goddess. "And surely you know her better than I—"

"I do." Freyja's eyes gleamed for a challenge.

"But that is _not_ the impression Cecelia gave me when I asked for her presence here on Asgard."

"No?" Freya bowed, her lovely eyes never leaving Odin's. She smiled and bit her lip. "Women can be more open when in one another's company as you know, but I must have been mistaken. Please forgive me, your majesty."

Freyja bowed just low enough to show off her considerable assets before gliding to the door. She glanced back once more at Odin to gift him with a winning smile and then allowed the guards to close the door quietly behind her.

The thoughtful look on Odin's face made Thor uneasy. "Father—"

"Tell me about Cecelia Jinn," Odin interrupted. His voice, slow with weariness over the last few days, now radiated determination.

Thor bristled at being interrupted yet again but answered. "She's a warrior in her own right back on Earth, working for an agency called S.H.E.I.L.D. that fought against Loki and the Chitauri. She almost died the night an onslaught of Kree escaped, but Loki used his magic to save her life before wrapping her in his cloak."

"He gifted her with his colors?" Odin sounded surprised.

"Yes."

"I see." Odin once again stepped out onto the balcony, his eyes scanning below but seeing nothing.

Thor continued. "Freyja has no love for Loki." That was putting it mildly. His brother had nothing but disdain for the wanton woman, and Freyja had hated him with the fire of a thousand suns since Loki had rejected her in their youth. Why Freyja was now trying to save him was beyond Thor's comprehension.

But if she had come up with a way to save his brother, Thor would take it. "Loki saved Cecelia's life, as he saved mine and Jane's."

Odin remained silent.

Thor pressed on, knowing that it was Freyja's words as well as his own that the All-Father would hear. "I know you harbor no love for Loki, not after all he's done. But I will one day rule in your stead, and I cannot have my brother's blood as an inheritance."

Odin finally met his son's eyes. "I will think on it."

Thor knew when he was being dismissed. He nodded curtly and proceeded back down the chamber's foyer. The guards opened the door as soon as he reached the threshold and closed it tightly behind him.

"I've done all I can, brother." Thor murmured to the great stone columns surrounding him as he marched down the hall. "I have said my peace. Now, all we can do is hope."


	8. Chapter 8- Loki

Loki

And here I was again, back inside a prison cell.

Honestly, it was all getting a bit redundant, but whatever hope I may have harbored for an escape was a moot point now. Frigga could no longer plead for mercy on my behalf. Cecelia, though loyal, held no love for me, nor I for her. And even though I'd saved Asgard from ruin, and Jane Foster's life in the process, Thor wouldn't be able to sway Odin. I knew Thor's father far better than Thor did. We were cut from the same unyielding cloth, Odin and I, and he wouldn't care what I'd done for Asgard. Now that Odin sat the throne once more he would order my execution without a trace of remorse.

This is how it ends, I thought. Not with a bang but a whimper. Isn't that what the poets say?

Well, not while _I_ still drew breath. I would think of a way to save myself. Hadn't I always?

The soft footsteps of a female came down the hall. I cocked my head to the side and closed my eyes, listening. The delicacy of the tread gave away my visitor.

"Freyja." I stood up from my chair and grinned at her lovely scowl. "So kind of you to drop by, or did you get lost on your way to someone's bed?"

Her scowl deepened, which only added to my mirth. "I am not in the mood for your quips, Loki."

I chuckled. "How about my charms?"

"Is there such a thing?"

"You've never sampled mine, but perhaps it's because so _many_ men have sampled yours."

Her face reddened with anger. It was delightful.

"You have a beautiful daughter," I continued. "Thankfully, she inherited none of your shallow addictions. She must have received her intellect from her father…"

Freyja finally lost her temper. "You bastard—"

I smiled. "Yes, I am, but at least I can admit _my_ faults."

She glared up at me standing above her on the dais of my prison cell, and I could practically _feel_ her wrath, the energy behind it. Freyja was breath-taking when she was angry, even if she was a malicious viper that would lick the air for any sign of weakness and strike without hesitation. A part of me admired her for that, but her superficial interests and carnal delights just made her detestable to me. None of the other male nobility could understand why I cared not for her offerings. Fools, all of them.

"Thank you for coming to chat," I said, turning my back to her in dismissal. "It's been the highlight of my day."

"Odin has decided to spare your life."

I stopped midstride and pivoted to face her again. "Do not lie to me, you miserable—"

"Come now, Loki." Her voice was a purr. "You've spent far too much time with humans if you believe me capable of such a shallow deception as this." She beamed, in her element now that she had my full attention on her terms. "Should you face the noose in a day's time, what would I have gained?"

"You would gain my shock at being deceived."

A light laugh escaped her throat. "But you do not believe me, regardless. So, what do I gain by a lie?"

I studied her face in the dim light. The golden weave of my barrier bounced off of her light hair and pale skin, making her look even more radiant. She was correct in my not believing her, but like me, Freyja never acted without reason. I observed her eyes, her face, her posture, as if it held some clue to her end game.

"There is a price for your freedom, naturally." She brushed a strand of thick hair back over a smooth shoulder. "Nothing, not even freedom, is truly free, is it?"

"There is always a price," I whispered in concurrence. "Name yours."

Freya looked genuinely shocked. "My dear Loki, this is not _my_ idea but Odin's."

"Then we are finished speaking. I want nothing to do with his plans."

"Even if it simply means being wed for the price of your independence?"

"Wed to you? I'd rather face the noose."

She laughed, but I could see I'd wounded her pride. She looked away for a brief moment and then back at me again. "Not to me, you Jotunheim _half-breed._"

I bit back a hiss. "Then who, you impudent strumpet?"

She beamed. "Why, my daughter Cecelia, of course."

If she meant to shock me, she succeeded in her quest. For one of the first times in my long life, I was rendered speechless.

"It makes perfect sense," she went on. "She's a half-breed, you're a half-breed." She practically radiated joy, she was so happy in seeing me turn the least of the two evils over and over in my mind.

I swallowed back a wave of distaste. "And what does Cecelia think of all this? Have you had the chance to bond yet, mother to daughter?"

Her back stiffened. "The insipid girl is wrong about her parentage."

So, I'd struck another nerve at last. "Oh, I think not." I smiled. "Though I will admit that she is twice the woman you are, even if she is human."

Freyja sniffed and turned to leave. Our conversation was at an end. "I do hope you decline Odin's offer, Loki. I would much rather see your head on a pike—"

"Than my cock in your younger doppelgänger? Or my whelps begging to see their grandmother?" I grinned. "You _are_ getting older, Freyja. How many grandchildren would you like us to sire?"

She cursed my name and swept out of the prison.

And my laughter followed her.


	9. Chapter 9- Cecelia

**Thanks so much for following, everyone! **

**You may have noticed that I got rid of the prologue. I promise you'll see it again in a few chapters. For those who are new to the story, I thought the prologue was a bit of a spoiler, especially after writing this chapter and the ones to come. I think it makes the story read better now, but I'll let you decide. My readers are gods. :-)**

**And for those of you waiting for Loki's return- he's coming up the next chapter. :-)**

Cecelia

Cecelia knocked on Jane Foster's chamber door with a heavy bang. It was mid-afternoon, but Cecelia had been too upset after meeting Freyja to eat "the midday meal," as Thor called it, with the others. As Cecelia waited for Jane to open the door, she looked down at her tennis shoes and stifled a sigh. She no longer cared about fitting into Asgardian society. As far as Cecelia was concerned, anything that looked remotely like what her mother would wear wouldn't touch an inch of flesh on her body, so Jane was greeted to the sight of Cecelia back in her jeans, sneakers, and plain long-sleeved shirt.

Jane was still dressed in the native garb she'd had on at breakfast. She crinkled her brow as she took in Cecelia's clothes. "Um…?"

Cecelia held up a hand to silence her protests. "Don't." She bent down and double-knotted her laces. "You ready to go?"

Jane nodded and came out into the hall, shutting the door behind her. "I take it your meeting with Freyja didn't go well?"

Cecelia pulled angrily on the last knot and stood up, "You could say that." She gestured back to Jane's room as the women began their decent down a wide staircase. "Why do you have your own room here anyway? Aren't you and Thor—"

"Good question," Jane interrupted angrily.

Cecelia shook her head in disbelief. "I take it that Odin thinks you and Thor need separate rooms?" She nodded to a guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs, but the man didn't acknowledge her. No one seemed to want to acknowledge her.

"Something like that."

Cecelia grunted. "That's ridiculous. You're both adults, and you love each other—"

Jane stopped walking and turned to face her new friend. "Love isn't enough. Not here. At least, not for Odin. He'd never let his only heir marry a _simple_ human like me." Her voice trembled in a mixture of grief and despair.

Cecelia placed a hesitant hand on Jane's shoulder. She wasn't very good at showing affection for a lot of reasons, but Jane seemed to need a reassuring touch. "Hey, it's okay. Odin may come around. And even if he doesn't, he'll probably die of old age soon anyway, right?"

That made Jane smile. She blinked back tears as she regarded Cecelia. "You're lucky, you know, that Odin doesn't care who Loki marries."

Cecelia's hand dropped.

"I'm sorry. That was rude. Just forget I said it, okay?" Jane waved a hand and, just like that, Cecelia was once again left with more questions than answers.

She followed Jane down a staircase that wound around the western wall of the palace. As they stepped through carved archways, Jane made a point to greet everyone she met with a smile from the youngest child fetching water to the grizzled guards that manned the exits. Everyone took the time to return Jane's goodwill with a smile of his or her own, and Cecelia couldn't help but hate Odin in that moment. If the king of Asgard was too blind to see what an amazing queen Jane would make, then he wasn't someone Cecelia _ever_ wanted to meet.

Jane ushered Cecelia through a side gate that led from the palace directly into an outer courtyard. Patches of greenery with flowering buds ringed the sides of the thick castle walls at intervals along the one road winding out to the main thoroughfare. They passed a merchant leading a dappled gray mare as they exited the courtyard. The heavy smell of the peaches and plums inside his cart wafted toward Cecelia and gifted the air with a rich, sweet fragrance.

Two enterprising children ran around the merchant, their small hands reaching up to snag a plum. Cecelia was sure the merchant would scold them, but instead he laughed gently and stopped his horse to toss out a peach. Cecelia couldn't help but wonder if merchants on Earth would've been so kindhearted if children tried to snatch their goods.

"The weather's gorgeous, isn't it?" Jane said. The sun beat down on the smooth cobblestones with just the right amount of warmth to signal that summer was coming.

"What season is it?" Cecelia asked. "It feels like spring."

"I'm not sure Asgard has seasons. The same trees outside of town will start producing different fruit in a few weeks time."

"_Really?"_

Jane nodded. "Yeah, there's no such thing as just an apple or an orange tree. It's pretty cool to see. I have a friend who's a botanist. She'd _kill_ to come here."

The city opened before them, and they continued down the main street for several blocks. Jane pointed out her favorite eateries and which vendor sold the tastiest tarts and which had the finest jewelry. Cecelia gazed around her in awe. It was like being transported back through time, only instead of smelling the filth and poverty of the Middle Ages, everything was pristine and brimming with life. The streets were fairly crowded today, and everywhere she looked people greeted her with a smile despite her Earthly attire. Horses seemed to be the main method of transportation if one could afford to own one, and yet everywhere she looked Cecelia saw only cleanliness, order, and joy.

They passed a man selling long-tipped quills and sheets of parchment outside of what looked like a stationary store. Cecelia's eyes lit up as she stared at the blank paper. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find a bookstore, would you?"

"A bookstore?" Jane gave her a quizzical smile. "I doubt they'll have anything in English."

"I know."

"What would you do with a book you couldn't read?"

Cecelia shrugged. She'd been thinking of Loki down in his cell. The rumor was that Odin would sentence him to death though there'd been no formal trial, at least none she'd been invited to. "I just thought it'd be a nice souvenir."

"Well, I can read some Asgardian symbols. Thor's teaching me, though I don't think he was ever much of a scholar. I may recognize enough of them to help you find something you'd like." Jane pointed forward. "There's a village on the outskirts of the city that has the best tea cakes I've ever tasted. I remember seeing an old bookstore around there. Come on."

Jane led the way, past the towering shops and apartments of the dense city until the stores were spaced further apart and the homes stood on small lots with patches of green grasses and small gardens. By the time they arrived at a little shop with the picture of a cup and pastry on a hanging sign, Cecelia was officially famished.

"Would you mind if we stopped for some tea?" Jane asked.

"No, that would be great!"

They sat at a table by the window. Cecelia allowed Jane to order and watched as small clusters of people walked by. Cecelia had no idea how much longer she would stay on Asgard, or if she even _wanted_ to stay, but she couldn't deny how peaceful it was here. She wondered what it would've been like to grow up inside the palace, with a mother that actually wanted her and palace workers that wouldn't ignore her, and Cecelia suddenly felt divided from her perfect surroundings. Was this how Loki felt when he walked the streets or was mistreated inside his own castle? If so, she could see how that might have caused an innocent boy to become a sociopath eager to lash out in anger.

"Oh, Cecelia! Look!" Jane pointed out of the window with a grin. "Come on!"

"But… our tea…"

Jane grabbed her hand and practically hurled her into the street. A small crowd followed behind a man and woman strolling hand-in-hand. Every now and then, the couple would look at one another and smile. The crowd spoke only in muted voices, and a hush of anticipation settled over Cecelia as she and Jane trailed behind them.

The crowd stopped outside of a cottage where an archway made from ivy and woven flowers stood waiting. The woven greenery reminded Cecelia of the night in Iceland when Loki wove pine needles into the wreath that had sent her to Mimir's Well. She closed her eyes to block out the memory and instead found herself listening to the gentle breeze. It sounded like the landscape itself was whispering something to her. Her palm felt warm, and when she glanced down at her hand, she saw her rune faintly glowing.

"What's happening?" Cecelia whispered.

Jane beamed at her. "It's a wedding."

They watched as a man who didn't look at all priestly began officiating the ceremony in a thick Asgardian dialect. He held out a wreath made out of motley wildflowers and spoke formal words over the head of the woman as her husband-to-be reached for a slim ornamental dagger from his sheath. Cecelia gasped as the husband-to-be cut deep into the flesh of his palm, and then opened his fiancée's hand to cut hers as well. Once their blood flowed, the couple clasped their hands together.

"That's a bit barbaric, isn't it?" Cecelia whispered as she watched blood drip onto the soil. It was obvious the experience wasn't a pleasant one for either party.

Jane leaned closer. "Technology and magic have evolved together on Asgard. Blood is considered the essence of life, and anything important must be sealed in blood. The deeper the cut, the stronger the bond. I know it seems strange to us, but blood sacrifice plays a huge part in ceremonies here."

Cecelia remembered Loki cutting himself at the Well of Mimir and shivered.

"You alright?" Jane eyed her curiously.

Cecelia forced herself to smile. "Yeah, I think I am."

Jane nodded to the cottage. "Marriages between farming families like this one usually take place right outside the couple's home, and Thor told me that their blood also blesses the land, making it more fertile."

The women watched as the priest used a simple, white cotton-like cloth to bind the joined and bleeding hands of the new husband and wife together. The spectators seemed to hold a collective breath as the couple smiled and held up their bound hands. A cheer went up from the crowd. Everyone gathered around the happy couple and a line formed to kiss them on the cheek, though Cecelia and Jane hung back.

"Their blood mingles, and actually binds them together."

Cecelia frowned. "Binds them? What do you mean?"

Jane shrugged. "All Thor would tell me is that it allows the two to become one."

"It all seems so… traditional."

"Yeah, no shotgun wedding chapels with Elvis officiating here." Jane patted Cecelia on the back. "Come on. Let's finish our tea and find that bookshop."

The sun was dipping along the crest of the distant mountains when the women finally entered the darkened bookshop. Every wall held a floor-to-ceiling shelf stacked to the brim with leather-bound books. To Cecelia's eyes, the shop seemed disorganized and cluttered, though she was sure there must be a system for finding things.

The seller, an elderly woman with golden teeth, smiled at them and spoke the word "Hello" in Asgardian.

Cecelia was proud at herself for picking up the simple phrase. "Hello," she replied in the shopkeeper's native tongue.

Jane sputtered a couple of words in Asgardian, along with some pretty realistic charades of her holding and flipping through a book. The women smiled back and beckoned to the shelves, clearly not understanding exactly what kind of book they wanted.

"Wait!" Cecelia turned her hand over so that the palm with the "Fehu" symbol faced the elderly shop-owner. "Have you seen this?"

Even though she didn't know English, the shopkeeper's blue eyes lit up with recognition. She bobbed her head and practically sprinted into the back with a speed that belied her old age.

"Wow." Jane grinned as she took in Cecelia with new eyes. "What did you show her?"

Cecelia shrugged shyly. "Apparently, I inherited this symbol from my mother. It became visible a few months ago." Cecelia held out her hand, and Jane studied her palm.

"That's so cool. What does it mean?"

"When I read through the S.H.I.E.L.D. archives, it said it was a symbol associated with Freyja. It means strength or courage, though there's some question about that. A lot of knowledge about runes has been lost." It seemed a lifetime ago that Cecelia had sat hunched over an encrypted S.H.I.E.L.D. computer, trying to find knowledge about the symbol on her hand as Loki waited in his underground cell at HQ.

The shopkeeper returned with a single book. She bowed as she handed it over to Cecelia.

Cecelia bowed back, accepting the thin book with a gentle grasp. As soon as she touched it, she could feel the magic within. The spine was worn but in no danger of falling apart. She could see the stitching that held the brown cover and bound the thick manila pages inside of it. The scent of dust and worn leather drifted up into her nostrils as she opened it.

"Power… rocks…" Jane tried to read the title page over Cecelia's shoulder. The shopkeeper moved to stand on the other side of her.

Cecelia turned the pages with care until she found a page with her mark.

"Fehu," the shopkeeper said. She pointed to the symbol on the page and touched Cecelia's hand with a toothy grin.

Cecelia smiled back. "How much?"

The woman furrowed her brow and looked over at Jane for a translation.

Jane dug out her small satchel and began untying the knot at the top.

The elderly woman shook her head. "Neinn. Neinn."

"She won't accept any payment," Jane said with a frown.

The woman opened Cecelia's palm and pointed to the mark. "Freyja," the woman said. She pointed to the heavens, then to her heart. She smiled.

"Well, at least my mother has _one_ fan," Cecelia muttered. She smiled at the woman and bowed again. "Thank you. Really. This was so nice of you."

When they were finally outside the door of the shop, the shopkeeper spoke some sort of blessing over them, and they were on their way, Jane pointed to the book. "So, what are you going to do with it?"

"I was going to study it, see if I could find out more about this." Cecelia held up her palm before scowling down at the book. "But now that it's obviously something about my mother, I'm not sure I want it anymore. Maybe I'll give it to Loki."

"Loki?"

Cecelia nodded. "At least he'll be able to read it." The man needed to do _something_ while he waited to die, and a book on rune markings seemed appropriate.

Jane's eyes widened with incredulity, and Cecelia tried to hide a blush as she felt her friend's judgment.

"I… I had no idea you liked him that much." Jane said. Her stammer made it clear how incredible she thought the concept was.

"I don't _like_ him, but I don't hate him either, at least not anymore. He's saved me twice now, and I guess I feel like I owe him something." Cecelia smiled softly. "Though he's a bit of an asshole, isn't he?"

Jane laughed and nodded. "Yes. Yes, he is."

"A lovable asshole."

"Nice way to put it, actually." Jane reached down and squeezed Cecelia's hand, and Cecelia frowned at the joy on Jane's face.

"Cecelia, I'm… really glad you opened up about Loki." Jane paused to consider her words. "To be honest, I've been worried about how you'd react when you found out."

Cecelia felt her stomach drop. Had Loki already been executed? "Found out what?"

"That Loki doesn't have to die."

_"Really?"_ That was news to her. She looked down at the book in her hand with a smile. Maybe she could visit Loki in prison every now and then, and he could help her find out more about her mark, maybe even school her in magic. He had to do something to while away the years. "So, Odin has decided to give him life in prison?" Maybe Odin wasn't so bad after all.

Jane let go of her hand.

Cecelia felt a nervous tinge in the pit of her stomach. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Jane pursed her lips and looked away.

"Jane?"

The scientist cursed under her breath, and when she finally met Cecelia's eyes, regret peered back at her. "I thought you knew…"

"Knew _what?_ For God's sake, Jane, spit it out!"

"Odin isn't giving Loki a life sentence in prison." Jane's smile was as fragile as her voice. "Instead of killing his son, Odin has accepted Thor and Freyja's offer of having Loki marry you instead."


	10. Chapter 10- Loki

Loki

Someone else was coming. Odin must have decreed it "Loki Visitation Day" here on Asgard.

I closed my eyes once more and listened to the determined but light footfalls coming to my cell. Not Freyja. Not this time.

"Welcome, Cecelia." I spread out my arms and bowed slightly as I gestured to my quarters, a ghost of a smile on my lips.

Cecelia gazed inside my cell, her eyes missing nothing. I'd assumed she would be dressed in Asgardian finery by now, but she wore the blue jeans and shirt from her native Earth. Interesting. She studied me as I studied her.

"Nice of you to visit," I said. "I just had a stimulating talk with your dear mother."

"That bitch isn't my mother."

That made me grin. "I'd invite you to sit, but I'm afraid I have no chair to offer you."

She looked away, and I wondered if I'd offended her, but no. When she spoke again, her words were tender.

"I've been thinking about that day I took away your throne."

My jaw tightened. It was my only outward reaction to her words. I waited.

"I think I somehow knew it was you," she said. "When you said my name, I could feel the magic behind it. That's why I came closer. And when I smelled you…"

She looked away. She seemed embarrassed about that fact, and who could blame her? Honestly, she sounded like a lovesick pubescent. Then, her gaze turned back to me and I found myself facing the hard stare of her inner strength. "Why did you protect me that day? You could have disappeared and left me to Odin's birds."

I closed my eyes and exhaled any bitterness toward her. I was angry at my current predicament, but it wasn't really her fault. Thor's maybe, for bringing her to Asgard. I couldn't answer her question because I didn't know the answer. I decided changing the subject was the wisest course. "Your hair is different."

She touched the wavy strands self-consciously. "I had to use magic to change the color when I was running away from S.H.I.E.L.D."

"It's dark. I like it," I said. In all honesty, I was shocked she'd acquired the knowledge to cast an illusion at all. She'd grown up, my human pet. "Did you use a rune to cast the spell?"

"Yes."

"So, you still have them in your possession?"

She nodded.

I felt my pulse quicken in anticipation. "Are they here on Asgard?"

Another nod.

Perhaps Cecelia could once again help me escape. I licked my lips. "Does anyone else know?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't think that would be wise."

Clever girl. Before I could speak my intentions, Cecelia interrupted.

"Jane said that we were going to get married. Is that true?"

She certainly didn't sound thrilled by the arrangement. In fact, she looked as if she was about to attend her own execution. Perhaps I was wrong about her feelings for me. "I am to hang otherwise," I said.

Cecelia gazed up at me, and her eyes were filled with rage. "Jane told me that if you agreed to marrying me, you'd live. Why would anyone do this to me? It doesn't make sense!"

"No, it does not. Do you know who came up with that ridiculous idea?" I had to know if it was truly Odin's plan. If it was, I'd tie the noose around my neck myself.

"Thor and Freyja thought you cared for me because you 'gifted me with your colors on Earth,' whatever the hell that means. At least, that's what Jane said."

Gods be damned.

I started chuckling. And soon the chuckling turned into a roaring laugh.

Cecelia backed away cautiously, and who could blame her? I'm sure I sounded like the madman that I everyone thought I was. "My cloak." I barely got the words out between my mirthful outburst. "I gave you my cloak so that I could use it to fool my brother that I cared for you, and again to trick your superiors in getting into S.H.I.E.L.D. and stealing the stones."

"So, it meant nothing," she said.

Poor girl. I knelt down in front of the barrier separating us, and she stepped a bit closer. I looked up and down at the enchantments keeping me locked away. "Just like old times, yes?"

She smiled then. It was the first beautiful thing I'd seen since being placed down in my cell.

"What do you want, Cecelia Jinn?" I asked her gently.

I noticed that saying her name now had no effect whatsoever. Her new knowledge of magic had freed her from my power over her. She locked her gaze on mine. "I want to be free. Free to marry whoever I want. Free to use magic. Free to do what I please."

"We are similar creatures, then."

"But I also don't want to see you die."

I shrugged. "You have no choice regardless."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You are not Asgardian. You are human and a woman. You have no rights in choosing your mate should you marry one of us."

Her eyes widened in shock.

I smiled sadly down at her. "Very different from your freedom of choice back on Midgard, is it not?"

She nodded curtly. " I expected Asgard to be more… civilized."

I actually laughed at that. "We are a warrior culture, a masculine one devoted to swords and warfare and everything that a man like _Thor_ is and I am not." I tried not to sound too bitter.

Her eyes grew soft. "I've brought you something."

"It's not more pornographic pulp fiction, is it?"

She laughed and dug into her back pocket, pulling out a folded piece of parchment. "I found this inside a book I got today about rune markings. I was going to give the book to you, but I think this might be more useful." She unfolded it and held it up to the barrier.

I inhaled slowly as I stared at it. "That is quite the find. Do you know what it is?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

I smiled. "No. Not anymore."

She shot me a disgusted look. "Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, I thought we could work together. It's a map of Earth with twenty-four markings…"

"Twenty-four marks for twenty-four rune stones," I whispered.

She nodded. "I know the geography of my planet better than you do, and you can read the symbols. I thought we could work together…"

"While I wait for them to tie the noose around my neck?" I asked. "And then what? You go back to Earth and amass all of that power for yourself?"

"No." She sighed and looked away, once again hiding whatever was in her head. "What do _you_ want, Loki?"

I stood up and stared down at the only person who could save my life. _"I want to live."_ Every word flared with conviction and purpose, filling the empty air of my prison.

Her eyes locked with mine, and at that moment, she knew what would happen to her. And she knew she had no choice, especially now that she'd brought the means for me to rule once and for all.

I watched as Cecelia folded up her map without a word or even a glance in my direction. She placed the parchment back into her pocket and walked out.

She didn't look back.


	11. Chapter 11- Cecelia

Cecelia

It took every ounce of strength Cecelia had not to go running from Loki's cell inside that prison. She walked carefully back up the stairs, past the servants and guards scurrying about the palace. Though none would meet her eyes, some stepped out of her way as she breezed by. She passed the stairwell that led to her room but instead of going up, she continued straight ahead, through the heart of the palace, down the grandiose pillared hallway….

And right into Odin's throne room.

The silver-haired golden king of Asgard rested quietly and alone on his justice seat. The sunlight from high windows spaced throughout the enormous room tickled the edge of his giant throne, sending bright rays that reflected off of his perch and shimmered over the stone floor.

"Cecelia Jinn," Odin said.

But Cecelia didn't stop coming. She marched right up him. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Odin didn't even twitch. "I am saving Loki's life. Isn't that what you want?"

She trembled with rage but kept her mouth shut. Ever since Loki had entered her life it had been turned inside out, but she knew if she misspoke now, she might be given the power to send Loki to his death. As much as she resented the hell out of him, could she really kill him?

She shook her head, as if to clear it. Hurting others, even those who deserved it, wasn't in her nature. "You're not _my_ king to order me around as you see fit. I want a man that _I_ choose, not you."

"That is not in your future, I'm afraid." He sounded like the talking well that Loki had taken her to ages ago.

"Have you spoken to Mimir? Is that why you're doing this?"

Odin gripped his scepter tighter and peered down at her. "Haven't you?"

She nodded and looked away.

"Mimir is quite fond of you, Cecelia. He believes you are a gift."

"A gift?" She whipped her head back to Odin, and her eyes narrowed with anger and suspicion. "A gift to _who_, exactly?"

"Asgard, Loki…" He leaned forward. "Perhaps even me." His last words were a whisper.

Before Cecelia could come up with words to counter that cryptic response, Odin stood and banged the bottom of his scepter against the golden stones below his thrown. Two guards appeared, as if by magic.

"We are done here," Odin decreed.

The guards nodded and took their places beside Cecelia.

"My lady?" One of them asked her.

She started in surprise and met the guard's dark eyes. It was the first time anyone working here had spoken to her. "Are you talking to me?"

The second guard nodded. "Of course, my lady. Odin has acknowledged you, and so do we."

Cecelia turned for her bedroom with a grunt, and the guards flanked her. Being inside a world ruled by a totalitarian monarch was certainty different than being an equal citizen back in America. At the thought of her home, her heart sank and her eyes filled with tears. She'd never step foot on American soil again, would she?

Once inside her chambers, she walked around aimlessly, lost in her thoughts. She felt numb inside. One of the guards knocked on her door to alert her that dinner was being served downstairs, but she was too upset to eat. She curled up on the soft mattress, pushing forward the heavy drapes along the sides so that she could block out the sun. And she slept.

The next thing she heard was a light knock on her door.

Cecelia opened her eyes and could see the faint light of morning coming through the sheer window curtains. She couldn't believe she'd slept so soundly. Even though her stomach growled with the thought of breakfast, Cecelia wasn't about to get up. She lay on her gigantic bed with her back to the door and closed her eyes to block out the sun streaming through her open windows. Didn't it ever _rain_ here on Asgard?

Another knock rang through her room, this one louder.

She debated with herself for another few seconds, then finally hoisted her body off of the mattress with a sigh of resignation. No use moping around in bed and getting depressed about something she couldn't change. Maybe Jane was outside with some chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better. Cecelia's hand was just about to reach for the doorknob when it burst open.

Three female servants hurried inside, each one carrying a brightly colored spool of fabric. The women glanced around, and the head servant finally pointed to her unmade bed. They draped their fabrics on top of the disheveled sheets, and then turned to Cecelia with a bow.

"My name is Hali." The head servant said. She looked a good two decades older than the shy teenage girls that accompanied her. "Sorry to disturb you so early, M'lady, but we needed to get your measurements now. Otherwise, we might not have time to sew."

"Sew?" Cecelia asked dumbly.

Of the three women, only Hali met Cecelia's eyes. "We're seamstresses for the court. We were ordered to come fit you for your gown, M'lady."

"My gown?"

Oh, God. Her _wedding_ gown.

Hali picked up the thickest of the silks, a deep emerald green, and draped it against Cecelia's shoulder with a nod. "Beautiful color against your dark hair, isn't it?"

Cecelia reached up to touch her locks with a grimace. She'd thought briefly about changing it back to blond but after meeting Freyja in the halls yesterday and being reminded of those blond tresses, she thought it best to stay a brunette.

One of the younger seamstresses slipped a sateen ribbon from her pocket and began taking Cecelia's measurements. Cecelia had never been measured for anything before. When the girl reached around Cecelia's back and raised the ribbon around her breasts, Cecelia flushed crimson.

Hali raised an eyebrow. "Never done a fitting before, M'lady?"

"No," Cecelia cleared her throat as the other girl measured her waist. "First time."

"Your Majesty insists on green and gold for your dress. Those are the colors of the bastard prince, so I'm not sure why King Odin asked for that." Hali spit out the word _bastard_ as if the cook had poisoned her stew.

Cecelia didn't say a word. It looked like Odin was keeping things quiet about his youngest son's upcoming nuptials. She wondered who would be in attendance at her wedding if the servants didn't even know. Odin, obviously. She wondered if he'd officiate. Thor and Jane would no doubt be there. She wondered if her dear old mother would bother making an appearance.

When the seamstresses finished getting her measurements, there was more draping of the fabrics over her body and hushed agreement between the women. Finally, Hali nodded and said something in Asgardian that made her lessers gather up their spools of fabric and depart Cecelia's bedroom.

"Your dress should be ready day after tomorrow, M'lady." Hali stood at the threshold of the door and turned to Cecelia with a frown. "You're from Midgard, yes?"

Cecelia nodded.

"Do you know why Odin wanted this gown so quickly? Is there to be a ball in your honor that hasn't been announced yet? My daughters would love to serve at a ball. They've never been to one."

"There's no ball that I know of."

Hali looked her over with a critical gaze one last time before closing the door.

Cecelia collapsed on the bed with a cry of despair, no longer hungry. She would be married to the god of mischief in two short days. And her life would change forever.

Two days.

She closed her eyes again.

And dreamed.


	12. Chapter 12- Loki

**Sometimes a writer thinks he/she knows where the plot is going to go, but finds that the story doesn't want to travel down its prescribed path. That's what happened with Loki and Cecelia's marriage. I hope you enjoy reading it again, this time from Loki's perspective. These two have decided to surprise me. I love it when characters do that.**

Loki

Two minutes.

Only two short minutes until this farce of a wedding, where I was to be betrothed to a simple woman from Midgard like a common peasant. In all my years, I never once entertained the idea of matrimony, especially not to a frail woman who would grow older by the hour, bound to me for the rest of her pathetic existence. Cecelia may not be the treacherous cunt her mother was, but she was still human.

The last rays of sunlight vanished. I stood at the far end of the Great Hall, grasping my magic specter in my right hand. The golden helmet that the dwarves had made for my Coming of Age celebration adorned my head. Candles lining the Great Hall flickered and reflected against the horns, casting a long shadow down the hall. The hour was twilight.

It had not escaped my notice that Odin had planned my nuptials for after sunset, an ill time of day. A night wedding, with the darkness as my witness, and not the golden light that defined the reign of Asgardian kings. Yet another reason to despise the man I once called "Father."

As I waited for Cecelia to appear so we could walk down the hall together and meet our fate, Freyja drifted into the hall. The pungent smell of her floral perfume made me want to vomit.

"You're looking well, Loki." Freyja slid next to me, her lips in a sneer. "So… princely and noble."

"Wish I could say the same." I raked my gaze over her beautiful garment with indifference. "I'm looking forward to all of the delicious things I plan on doing to your daughter tonight." I grinned down at her. "Perhaps I'll sketch out a picture for you."

Freyja scampered away to go talk to Thor, and I laughed softly behind her back. She hated when anyone did that.

"You seem happy."

A bleak feminine voice interrupted all my murderous thoughts toward Freyja. I turned to find Cecelia standing next to me. Her wedding gown was in the style of Asgardian nobility, with layers of dark green velvet and gold silk against her warrior's leather. She wore my colors well.

"Are you ready to begin this ridiculous ceremony?" I asked.

She paled and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"You don't have to, you know."

Her eyes fluttered open.

"I can face the gallows. I've endured far worse in the Nine Realms than simple death. I know you have no joy in being bound to me today."

She laughed bitterly. "Definitely no joy, that's for sure."

"Love?"

It was a test, and for a brief moment, I thought she'd fail. If she mentioned one whiff of the word "love," I'd end this charade once and for all by killing Odin with a jolt from my scepter. I'd face instant death, of course, but that was far better than being bound to someone who mistook this torturous burden for quaint affection.

Instead of gazing up at me in adoration like deplorable mortal women of old, her chin rose until her eyes met mine. "Love? For you? No. I've spent the last two days coming to terms with what's about to happen. I may not have any control over this, but I do have plans."

I smiled. "Mine are far more lucrative, I assure you."

She smiled back. "I want revenge, Loki."

I reached for her hand and sealed it against my lips. "As do I."

A trumpet sounded at the far end of the hall. Her brows rose in question, and I gestured forward with my scepter. "We walk as one."

Her hand remained atop of mine, and we began our march between the grand pillars toward a motley crew of family awaiting us in front of the throne. Marriage to Cecelia was not the worst of fates. Perhaps she would live longer than most humans. It seemed likely, given her mother was Freyja. I glanced up the hall at the shameless whore and saw Freyja's smug smile of satisfaction at seeing my predicament. She knew as well as any of the other Asgardian nobility that the last thing I ever wanted was to be married. And marrying off her human daughter would elevate Cecelia's status on equal par with her own. No more laughter behind Freyja's back, not anymore.

What I couldn't comprehend was Thor's hand in all of this. His simple mind was incapable of devious plotting. The only answer I could find was that he somehow thought my marrying a woman, even a human one, was far better than dying, and he was right. As long as I lived, I could plan. As long as I could plan, the possibilities remained endless.

And now? Now I had an accomplice.

Odin descended the steps to meet us. Freyja, and only one servant girl stood watching and waiting on my left. I ignored them both.

Thor and Jane Foster stood to my right. Thor stood resolute, no conceit to his expression at all. That was good. I'd hate to have to kill him. Jane appeared horrified by the spectacle playing out before her. I wondered if she'd ever have the stomach to marry into Asgardian nobility, if that indeed was Thor's wish.

Odin stared down at me and cleared his throat.

The show was about to begin.

"Loki Laufeyson, Prince of Asgard, do you take this woman as your mate?" Odin's voice carried down the hall, and it was a wonder the entire palace didn't hear it. He must have dismissed the guards and servants.

Beside me, I felt Cecelia stiffen. Even now, a part of her wanted me to say "no" and would've welcomed the insult. I could sense it coming off of her in waves.

"I accept this woman." My voice was a blade, its edge a burning raze that made even Thor wince.

Cecelia wasn't given an option of declining. I wondered if she might have. Women, especially some human from Midgard, didn't have a say in whether to bind themselves to nobility. She was mortal, and thus, a pawn in Odin's sight. A piece to snare me, nothing more. But what the old man didn't know was that I would transform her from his pawn into my queen.

Her eyes mirrored my own controlled rage as I undid my cloak and draped it over her shoulders. When she'd worn it before, it had been a mockery, a guise to fool my witless brother and all of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, it was a testament to my devotion. She was under my protection for as long as she lived.

Odin began the marriage litany in the ancient tongue. I'd heard it spoken many times at the weddings of other nobles. The melodic syllables spoke of fidelity and truth, honor and duty. When the tedious words were finally done, I pulled my dagger for Blot, the blood rite.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Jane tense and grasp Thor's meaty arm.

Cecelia must have anticipated what was about to happen. Perhaps someone had schooled her. She held out her right palm, the one bearing the mark of Fehu, without my even having to reach for it. Her eyes filled with fierce determination. "Cut deep," she whispered.

I did.

The cut was sure and slow, as rooted as I could make it without fear of causing her to faint. Wouldn't _that_ have been a sight?

She kept her eyes as wide as possible to hold back her tears and watched as I cut into my own palm even deeper. I allowed the pain to sink into me, fueling my anger. I brought my bleeding palm to hers quickly and clasped our hands together.

Our blood mingled and burned, combining in a dance supernatural power. My magic flowed into her, and hers into me. It was unexpected, this exchange. She started laughing, softly at first, and then louder.

Odin frowned, and glanced at a confused Thor. Freyja pursed her lips, and I could smell her fear.

I smiled down at Cecelia as the blood bond began to take shape between us. Our powers and emotions merged until I could feel what she did. I absorbed all of the trepidation she'd kept hidden, all of her rage at the injustice of it all, and she, in turn, felt my divine purpose.

Oh, Odin, if you only knew what you have wrought.

The most intimate ritual of our wedding was now complete. The servant girl, dressed all in scarlet I noted, rushed over to wrap our clasped hands in the soft white linen to catch the blood. She was well trained. None dripped onto the golden marble below our feet. It was an obvious slight that Odin refused do this himself, but no matter. He would live only long enough to feel remorse, I would make sure of it.

"It is done." Odin's words filled the deathly silence of the Great Hall. "From henceforth, Cecelia Jinn, you shall take the Asgardian name of Sigyn* to honor the blood of your mother and signify your bound with your new husband."

Freyja's doing, no doubt. I made a note to continue to call my wife Cecelia, especially in Freyja's hearing.

There were no shouts of merriment, just the emptiness of the enormous hall. The silence stretched like a tightened bow as if every participant in this fiasco held a collective breath, waiting to see what Odin would do.

But Odin said nothing more. He simply turned back for his golden throne and left us.

Thor came forward and clasped me on the back. "Congratulations, brother."

I allowed him to embrace me, but only out of obligation. It was an awkward exchange as Cecelia's hand was still bound to mine, and would be until I undid the linen inside the bedchamber, as was the custom.

Jane came to stand beside her beloved Thor, but did not bother to look at me. Her attention was on Cecelia. "Are you alright?" Jane asked her.

Cecelia gave her a bemused smile. "Oh, yes. Never better."

Jane looked shaken. She held onto Thor's forearm and allowed him to escort her back to her chambers, but glanced back at Cecelia with a look of pity.

My eyes locked on my wife. "Usually, there is a party after a noble wedding such as this."

"Not for us, I take it?"

I shook my head.

"I'm not interested in parties."

I grinned. "So eager to enjoy our wedding night?"

Cecelia caught a ragged breath that threatened to escape her throat. She was afraid. Whether she feared being alone with me or the act of consummating our marriage, I couldn't say. The blood bond was still there, but its effects were beginning to dull as my wound healed faster than hers.

"Come." I took her hand with a devilish grin. "There is no sense in waiting. Besides, you've never seen my chambers, have you?"

_*Sigyn (pronounced "See-jin") is the Norse name for Loki's wife._


	13. Chapter 13- Sigyn

**Sorry this story hasn't been updated recently. I really wanted to show this chapter from Loki's POV, but neither of my main characters were having it, so… Cecelia's POV it is.**

**Warning: This chapter gives the story its "M" rating.**

Sigyn

Loki's chambers were located on the far side of the palace, and with every step Cecelia became more and more hesitant about going with him, not that she had any choice. Her own chambers sat empty in another wing, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to go back to them. She wondered if her old clothes and stuff from Earth still waited inside, or if it had all been moved to Loki's room.

She followed her new husband, still tied to his hand thanks to that blood ritual, up a winding staircase hidden in plain sight and through several narrow archways. Every few steps, Cecelia was forced to gather up Loki's cloak still attached to her back in order to avoid tripping on the lengthy fabric.

When they reached the top of the stairs, only one door stood at the end of a vast hall. Loki opened it for her with the tip of his scepter in his free hand, and Cecelia stepped inside, though with their hands still wrapped together it made her sidestep look like an awkward dance.

For some reason, Cecelia imagined that Loki's room would be in disarray, reflecting the sociopathic mind of its master. Instead, the chamber before her was neat and orderly. Bookshelves lined the walls, and each volume seemed to have its place. A rectangular table with elaborately carved wooden chairs sat between two of the giant shelves. Cecelia noticed that a servant had placed a large decanter of red wine and a golden plate filled with fruit, meats, bread, and cheese atop the table. If the amount of food and drink left here was any indication, she and Loki were supposed to stay inside his chambers for quite a while. Her stomach fluttered nervously that thought.

A fire roared against the wall to her right. Had she been in any other room on any other night, she would've been thrilled at seeing what had to be hundreds of books on magic and history. She would've picked one at random and enjoyed trying to ferret out the symbols, curling up beside the glow of the fire. But here, with Loki, and only one room away from what definitely looked like a bedroom straight ahead, Cecelia wanted nothing more than to flee.

She could feel Loki studying her, and she blurted. "I can't do this."

"Do what?" he asked.

How could he be so coy? She looked up to observe the face of the man she was supposed to be intimate with and fear gripped her. "Are we going to…?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Fuck?"

She swallowed hard. Not the word she would've used. Thanks to their mingled blood, she could feel anger surge through her new husband when he said the word and knew he was just as embittered about their circumstances as she was. That made it more tolerable, but only slightly.

She glanced down at the soft gauze still bound around their hands. His eyes followed hers.

"Ah, yes. The blood bond." Loki placed his scepter against the wall and unwrapped the linen carefully. When their hands were finally free, she noticed his palm had completely healed. He strolled to the fire and dropped in the wrap. The tongues of flame licked at their dried blood and flashed a bright green before consuming the fabric completely.

Loki walked back to Cecelia and turned her hand over in his. With a tender touch, he ran his fingers over the wounded fresh. Just as she began to wonder if she would always carry the scar, Loki raised her palm to his lips. He murmured guttural, exotic words, his lips so close to the wound she could feel the warmth of his breath, and the scar vanished.

Cecelia smiled her appreciation. "Thank you."

Their eyes met, and Cecelia felt something shift in the air between them. He still held her hand in his, and she felt a shudder of heavy warmth begin to spread from her palm down into her stomach, moving lower…

Loki suddenly let go of her, and the heat vanished. She had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from crying out in frustration. Anger surged in her at the thought that he might've done that on purpose.

He stepped closer, his body brushing against hers now, and his words were a harsh whisper. "I am not a kind man, Cecelia. Never mistake me as such. I am not a hero from one of your earthly fairy tales, and I will never pretend to be. Not for you, not for anyone."

He reached out for her then, cupping her cheeks with the palms of his hands in a way that was almost tender. "But neither am I cruel to those who hold my loyalty. You and I have common enemies, and that will bind us together for a time." He removed his hands from her face, and her cheeks instantly cooled.

Before Cecelia could form a reply, Loki stepped over to the table that held the wine. He took off his golden horned helmet and placed it on a chair before picking up the jug to pour the rich dark liquid into a glass chalice.

He held it out to her. "May I offer you some wine, my wife?"

She flinched at her new title but came over to accept the token of… friendship? Partnership? She wasn't sure which. Her hands trembled around the glass as he lifted his fingers to rest at the back of her neck. His fingertips moved softly over her skin until she felt a distinct tug, and suddenly his cloak was off of her and lying on a nearby chair.

She tilted the chalice back and chugged the wine down. All of it.

Loki shook his head in jest. "The vintage isn't _that_ bad."

"It's pretty damn good actually, but ever since _this_…" She held up her freshly healed hand with a glare. "Rage has been churning through me. I can't even _think_ straight anymore, and I don't know if the fear and anger are mine or yours."

"The anger is mine," Loki admitted. "Perhaps you have some of your own. I take no credit for the fear." He swirled the liquid around his own glass until thick fingers dripped from the edges, sliding slowly down until they reached the pool at the bottom. He handed out his own cup to her. "Don't down this one as you did the last, or I'll start to feel your inebriation."

Cecelia had to work not to let her mouth hang open in disbelief. "Can this blood bond thing actually make you feel _drunk_ through me?"

"It would appear so. Normally, it would take far more than a single jug to make me inebriated, and yet I haven't taken so much as a taste." He motioned to her glass. "Place the chalice under your nose."

She did.

"Now inhale." He sneered. "Considering how well human olfactory senses work, you should be able to discern something."

Was Loki still bitter about how she'd smelled him in Odin's throne room? Cecelia would've smirked at that thought if she wasn't so frightened of the night that lay ahead. She closed her eyes and inhaled dutifully. The aroma was heavy with the scent of oak, ripe summer berries, and a hint of tobacco. She told him so.

"Very good." His words were spaced out and sounded slightly patronizing, but since gulping down that glass of red, she no longer cared.

He finally poured himself some wine he intended to actually drink and took a sip. "Are you still afraid?"

"Hell, yes. Can't you feel it?"

"The wine seems to have dulled that part of our bond, thankfully." He placed his chalice down on the table and came closer. "Don't be afraid, Cecelia. We don't have to consummate this farce of a marriage."

She breathed out a sigh of relief so loud that Loki actually smiled. "What about this?" She raised the palm that once held the scar and allowed herself another drink of wine. "Doesn't this crazy bond pretty much screw us regardless?"

"Blót is… tricky." He moved away, struggling with the right words. "Since I never expected to marry, I never did much study into it all. It should, in theory, cause us to feel one another's emotions, pain... and pleasure. In ancient times, the blood bond would allow Asgardian warriors to find their way home, guided by the love of their mate. But it has a darker side as well. When men died in battle, their wives would typically throw themselves onto the ship pyre, dying with them."

"A disturbing thought." Cecelia shuddered. "Does it have that effect on the husband?"

"As I watch Odin struggle with… " Loki took a deep breath, "my mother's death, I've come to realize that it wounds men as well, but slowly, internally."

Cecelia could _feel_ the sadness when Loki spoke about his mother. He must see it as weakness because he immediately locked eyes with her as if to discern whether or not she could sense this chink in his armor through their bond. Cecelia wisely kept her face expressionless.

Loki snatched her wine glass from her fingers, and before she could protest, he tilted back its contents until it was empty. "Is this to be our wedding night, then?" He asked harshly. "Fumbling around for a common ground in stutters and awkward phrases?"

She glared at him. "I'd rather fumble around with words than in your sheets."

He laughed. It was an angry, bitter sound. "My dear, Sigyn, you have no idea what you're missing."

Cecelia had only a fraction of a second to grasp the fact that Loki had called her by her new married name before he pounced. At least it seemed to Cecelia that he pounced, he moved so quickly. One second he was at the far end of that table, and the next he was pressed against her body. Her heart raced as his hand caressed her face.

"The things I could do to you…" His words were a hot murmur against her ear. "I've felt your response to me since I healed you, so if you do not want this, tell me now."

"I don't want this." She lied.

"Do _not_ toy with me. I can feel when you deceive me." He leaned back to study her expression. "Or perhaps you deceive yourself?"

Maybe she did. Her mind was fuzzy, and his body, every part of it, was a solid wall of heat against her. She swallowed but before she could speak, his lips were against hers. Her defenses screamed at her to run away, but she couldn't move. His mouth was hard and hot, but she didn't kiss him back. She had her pride.

He pulled back to study her features. Cecelia met his gaze and refused to look away.

His lips curled into a smirk as he tilted her neck for a better angle. She closed her eyes, and then his lips dipped down to nibble at the sensitive spot under her ear, trailing over the line of her jaw with such a feather-light caress that she allowed herself to gasp. Pleasure flooded her entire body. He chuckled, and this time when his mouth found hers, she kissed him back without the slightest reservation. The pleasure intensified, and she pressed herself against his hardness with a frustrated moan.

God, she was _moaning!_

When he chuckled again, she bit him on the lip. It wasn't a hard bite, but it wasn't a little love peck either. He pulled her head back by her hair to stare at her, and for a briefest of moments, she was terrified she'd angered him. But he smiled, and this time when he went for her neck, his teeth grazed her sharply and she felt every nerve ending in her body sing.

He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and hissed in her ear. "Wrap your legs around me."

"No." Rebellion rose up in her and she managed to narrow her eyes at him.

A whisper of a chuckle and then… they vanished.

She cried out as the world spun around her. The next thing she knew, they were inside Loki's bedchamber. Dizziness made her moan for a different reason, and she wasn't sure if it was from his teleporting them inside his bedroom or from the wine.

Loki didn't ask if she was all right, and she didn't expect him to. She leaned into his chest to stop herself from falling. His arms were still wrapped around her, and she could feel his strong heartbeat against her cheek. She breathed deeply to steady her mind, her emotions. As she inhaled, she smelled the sweet fragrance of anise again and stifled a laugh at the irony of it all. Once again entangled in Loki's arms and not a damn thing she could do about it.

The only light source in his bedroom came from moonlight shimmering through the sheer curtains and from a single lit candle next to his bed. She closed her eyes to block out the swirling light and play of the shadows. His grip tightened around her, and before she could figure out what his intentions were, the room was spinning again. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them she was lying on his generous bed. Loki smiled down at her, propped up by his elbows so his weight wouldn't crush her.

Cecelia managed a glare. "Showing off?" If only the room would stop whirling around. The last thing she wanted to do was pass out.

"No." Loki grinned devilishly down at her. "_This_ is showing off."

And suddenly, their clothes were gone.

She held out hope that maybe it was a simple mirage, like his disguises on Earth, but when her fingertips slid down the wiry muscles of his chest, she knew it was real. She wondered briefly if these were the kinds of tricks that gave Loki his mischievous reputation when his lips found hers again.

She tried to pull away this time. Her hands grasped the silken sheets beneath her and she pulled herself further up the bed.

Loki tsked at her. "Am I really _that_ bad of a kisser?"

He wasn't. In fact, he was amazing, but she wasn't about to stroke his ego. "You're dreadful."

His laughter drifted to the high ceilings and out into the night. "I'm growing quite fond of you, my human pet." His dark eyes caught hers, and all humor faded. She swallowed as his eyes drifted down from her face to her chest.

Cecelia raised a hand to hit him for leering, but he caught her wrist. Instead of pinning her, as she expected him to do, he pulled her offending hand closer to his lips. She whimpered, sure that he was about to hurt her the way she desperately wanted to hurt him, but instead he lowered his mouth to graze her skin. Before she could pull away, the tip of his tongue traced a single line from her pulse and up her palm to her fingertips.

Searing heat rippled through her everywhere his mouth touched flesh. She kicked with her legs in a futile attempt to get away, and his hold tightened.

"No," he whispered.

His body slid up against hers, and her eyes widened when she felt his arousal. She wished she could tell him that she'd had enough, but her body betrayed her. This time when he bent down to kiss her, all thoughts of getting away vanished.

She expected his hands to go straight for her chest, like so many human men were apt to do, but he didn't. His hands drifted down her sides, caressing the curves of her body to come to rest on her thighs. His lips brushed against the side of her breasts, teasing with slow circles, before his mouth found a nipple and scraped it with his teeth. She gasped, and as his lips tormented her, she moved her hands down, desperate to touch him.

But he wouldn't let her. He chuckled as one of his hands grasped both of her wrists and held them over her head. She tried to free herself, but his grip was like iron. A weak protest formed in her throat, but before she could demand he release her, his agile fingers trailed down to the heat between her legs and pressed against her core. As she moaned, he shifted and his hardness pressed against her.

"All you have to do is tell me to stop, and I shall," Loki whispered.

Damn the bastard, he _knew_ she wasn't going to tell him to stop. Not now.

"What do you want, Cecelia?" His voice was a sultry murmur in her ear.

He also knew what she wanted, but there was no way in hell she was going to ask.

"_Say it."_

She groaned as he nibbled her neck, the sensitive arch of a breast. His fingers caressed her center until one entered her wetness, then another, gently pressing until she was almost mad with lust.

Her pride went right out the window. "I want you to fuck me."

He grinned. "Why, my dear Sigyn, I'd be happy to."

And he did, thrusting inside of her so hard she cried out. It felt like every nerve ending in her body was in tune with his, and they found their rhythm easily. One arm wrapped around her possessively, while he utilized his mouth and his fingers to drive her wild as he drove into her. Their bodies began to move faster, and she lifted her hips to meet him, frantic to reach another peak. She could feel that he was close, and she scraped her nails over his back. He thrust deeply, and this time when she came, they cried out together.

-0-0-0-

Cecelia awoke to a sunbeam that had the gull to pierce the muted darkness of the bedroom. For a moment, she thought she'd awoken inside her own bed chamber, but when she tried to move away from the sun she found a heavy arm wrapped around her body. She froze.

Loki. Last night. _Oh, God…_

The man had been insatiable. They'd both been. Every time she'd peaked and screamed her pleasure, she'd felt Loki's coming right behind her, the bond combining their lust until it had filled her universe. Sleep came in short droughts, and then Loki would wake her with his hands or his tongue, and the cycle would begin again. She'd never experienced sensations like she had last night, and it was a good thing they were married because Loki had absolutely ruined her for other men.

She was about to attempt untangling herself from Loki's embrace to see if there was a bathroom somewhere around when she heard shouts coming from outside the main door to Loki's chamber. Men were arguing outside the door, their voices rising and falling to a fever pitch until finally someone knocked.

"Loki! Open this door, if you're truly there."

It was Thor.

Cecelia squirmed against her new husband, but Loki didn't budge.

"Loki!" Thor yelled as his fist slammed into the door.

Cecelia turned to wake Loki and found him wide-awake, staring down at her.

"Don't move, my pet," Loki whispered. His hand fell on her hair and brushed it back gently. "You're about to see the first act."

"First act?" Cecelia wrinkled her brow. "Are we in some kind of play?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it 'play,' my dear." Loki smiled wickedly.

Another loud thud, and Loki's main door burst open. From where Cecelia lay on Loki's bed, she could see Thor enter the main chamber with two armed guards. The men's eyes trailed over the table, bookshelves, and the cold ash of the fireplace before marching into Loki's bedroom. Cecelia gasped and pulled the cover up to her neck as Thor glared down at her husband.

"Loki." Thor spat the name like a curse.

Loki yawned and blinked up at the men. "Thor. My dear brother, what is the meaning of all of this? I thought a man's marriage bed was held as a sacred place."

"Enough jests!" Thor slammed a fist into the wall. "Odin is dead! You killed him!"

Cecelia's eyes went wide. She glanced over at Loki, whose shock mirrored her own.

"What?" Loki stood up then, fully nude and obviously without any shame about that fact. "I've been inside my bed chamber all night." He ran a hand through his black hair and motioned nervously at Cecelia. "My wife can testify to this, I swear."

Thor took several deep breaths as he turned his attention to Cecelia. "Sigyn, does Loki speak the truth?"

Cecelia flinched at being called by her new name (though she reasoned that she'd better get used to it at this point), but she nodded with confidence. "Loki and I…" She blushed. "We've been here all night. We just woke up."

Thor's eyes narrowed as he studied Loki and Cecelia.

"Thor?" Heimdall's voice carried into the bedroom even before he strolled into the space. He glanced down at Cecelia, and looked away with a slight bow. "The vision was blurred, but there can be no doubt. It was Freyja."

Thor turned sharply to gaze at Heimdall. "Freyja? Are you certain?"

"It does make sense, my friend," Heimdall said. "She and Odin have long amassed armies for the dead who follow them, and she's always shown the tendency to covet."

Loki raised an eyebrow, and Cecelia could see a joke forming on his lips, but at the look on Thor's face, Loki reconsidered.

"Your highness?" Another male guard entered the room, causing Cecelia to roll her eyes. For God's sake, was there any Asgardian who wouldn't see her naked with Loki in his bed?

And then, it hit her.

All these witnesses to her and Loki together, the image Heimdall saw of Freyja killing Odin… it was all part of Loki's plan.

She swallowed hard as Thor, Heimdall, and the guards bowed their way out, apologizing profusely as they left. She gazed over at her husband and saw his lips curved into a knowing smile. Her stomach coiled into a tight fist of fear as she saw with crystal clarity the savagery and cunning of the man she now called "husband." And it scared the hell out of her.


	14. Chapter 14- Loki

**Welcome, everyone! And thanks for following!**

**Another chapter rated "M" for sexual content.**

-0-0-0-

Loki

I'm going to tell you a secret about human females, even strong females like Cecelia: they all mistake sex for love. Once you have a woman's love, you have her trust. And once you have her trust, there's nothing you can't do to and with her.

They also make _excellent_ witnesses.

Heimdall, Thor and his armored thugs had just closed the door to my chambers when Cecelia slumped down to sit at the edge of the bed. "I can't believe Odin's dead." Her sharp eyes gazed up at me in accusation. "He was your own father—"

"He was _not_ my father!" I faced her with a sneer. "And he _begged_ for death."

"No doubt because you probably tortured him." Cecelia continued with all of the outrage a human girl can muster.

"Please." I practically snorted with contempt. "I did no such thing."

That last part was true, though I could tell by her dubious expression that she didn't believe a word of it. Of all the elements I had to consider when killing Odin last night, his consent was one of the more fascinating surprises. Head bowed, eyes downcast, he had submitted to his own death completely. Perhaps he'd finally had enough of life without Frigga. No matter. I'd had quite enough of life with him.

I strolled lazily to the edge of the bed and spread my arms with a mocking bow. "Shouldn't you be thanking me? Why do you care for Odin? It is obvious he cared nothing for you." I moved closer and saw her eyes glance down at my naked form before she blushed a lovely shade of pink. I smiled and slipped under the sheets, pulling her close to me. "He entrapped you here with me, a man you despise."

That last sentence was a bit of fun on my part. If our copulation was any indication, I'm quite sure she didn't despise me, at least not anymore. My need to possess her throughout most of the night had been so strong it'd felt like fire running through my veins. Never mind that I'd needed her to believe I had been next to her in bed all night, every aspect of my wedding night had been great fun, even in my rage at being forced to trade one kind of imprisonment for another.

I gazed over at my new bribe. Freyja and Odin's treachery would always be right in front of me, nestled between my sheets. Barring death, Cecelia and I were bound together. There was no divorce on Asgard. But at least _this_ form of bondage allowed for carnal pleasures. The memory of last night widened my smile. I'd forgotten just how much fun human females could be until I'd seduced her.

"No need to be shy." I reached out for her, hoping for a bit more fun, but she turned away.

I dropped my arm with a frown. If she went to Thor and spoke the truth about my deception, I may have to kill her, and I really didn't want to do that. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I even _could_, thanks to the bonding.

"Cecelia?" My plans depended on her being alive, and on her cooperation. I forced my voice into a murmur of tenderness. "Are you angry with me?"

"I don't approve of your methods," she whispered.

Gods, was _that_ all? "I do not need your approval."

Her head whipped around to face me with an impressive glower. "You never told me. I wanted revenge, too, but you never asked me what my plans were."

Now she wanted to me to beg permission? I returned her look of anger with one of my own. "I am your husband, your superior. I will never ask you for—"

And she struck me.

The last time a woman had hit me across the face, it had been Thor's whore and, since the oaf had just freed me from prison, I wasn't about to protest. Besides, I'd admired her spirit. But having your own wife strike you? Well, that's something else entirely.

I grabbed her wrist and dragged her underneath me, careful not to hurt her. "Never strike me, Cecelia."

She glared up at me, and I could _feel_ her wrath. "Odin didn't deserve to die," she hissed.

"Oh, he did and more, though your sweet ears are too innocent to hear of his atrocities." I bent down and nibbled on her neck.

She bit back. Hard.

My lips curled into a cunning smile. In all my years, I couldn't remember a human woman ever having the gall to go on the attack. Most were all too willing to simply lay back and let me do everything. And while that had given me quite the reputation, it was oh-so-boring.

I let her draw blood. Not because I enjoyed pain, far from it. But I could feel her helplessness through the bond, and I've never been a fan of feeling powerless. Slowly, I allowed my hands to trail down the soft curves of her breasts and down to her inner thighs.

"Sigyn…" I whispered, using her married name. "That wasn't nice."

A flash of sorrow came to me through the bond.

"Yes, your fate is out of your hands." I acknowledged, dipping my neck to kiss the slope of her lower stomach. "And, yes, you are now bound to a man you do not love, but this marriage doesn't have to be without its own rewards." My lips trailed lower, down to her mound, and her legs spread open in an inviting way that brought a smile to my face despite myself. "Here." I breathed in her scent. "Let me show you."

I glanced up to study her face. Her breathing was coming in heavy gasps and her cheeks were flushed with the heat of carnal passion. I took that as a "yes."

There's something about listening to a woman scream from the pleasure you're giving her. It's almost as good as sliding inside the tight wetness of her body and feeling her writhe beneath you. Perhaps it was Blót, but I'd never experienced such visceral pleasure thrusting deep inside of a woman before. Every time Cecelia arched her back and cried out, a surge of lust so powerful it was almost orgasmic rippled through me. I'd always enjoyed the dominance I could gain over a female during copulation, but now? Now, it was an immediate physical jolt that merged the mental satisfaction into a pure physical one, leaving me breathless.

It seemed as if marriage wouldn't be so bad after all.

-0-0-0-

"Do you want to know what your name means, Sigyn?"

Cecelia lay atop of me. We'd spent the entire day in bed, only stopping for sustenance. The plate of food was now empty, the wine gone. Nightfall was upon Asgard, and I could hear the rippling sounds of nocturnal creatures coming alive under a full moon.

She sighed, either from postcoital bliss or defeat, I couldn't tell which. "Sure, why not?"

"It means 'victorious girlfriend.'"

She laughed softly, her face tumbling into the sweet spot just under my arm.

"Fitting, is it not?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

She grew quiet, and I listened to the soft cries of a night owl sitting just outside out window.

"How did you do it?" Cecelia asked gently.

I knew what she meant without her having to say anything more. "Wait here, and I shall show you," I said.

I got up and went into my main chamber, past the bookshelves and the table that once housed our food. Cecelia's belongings had been brought here sometime before our nuptials the previous day and dropped next to the front door. I pulled out her ugly black bag made from some sort of Midgardian artificial skin and dug out the stone that had been Odin's downfall.

I dropped the All-Father rune onto the bed next to her. She jumped as if I'd casually tossed her a snake. With a slow intake of breath, she gently picked it up. I watched as the realization of what I'd done struck her.

"You never could've killed him without this rune could you?" she whispered. "You used his own power against him."

"And for that, I thank you." I bowed. "Though he knew I was coming."

She eyes widened. "What did he do?"

"He didn't fight me."

"You mentioned that."

"And you didn't believe." I slid next to her again, and this time, she didn't pull away. "It is true, nonetheless."

Her fingers rubbed against the indentation of Odin's mark on the smooth surface of the stone. "Because of the rune, do you think?"

I shrugged. "Or because he simply no longer cared if he lived or died."

She looked away, her expression thoughtful. "Odin mentioned something like that when I stormed into his throne room."

"Did he?" Curious. I sat up, intrigued.

"Yeah, he said something like…" She frowned, trying to replay his words inside her mind. "Mimir apparently told him that I was a gift to Asgard and to Odin, whatever that meant."

I'm not the type to fret but anything Mimir might have mentioned about Cecelia's role in Asgard being a positive one certainly went against my plans. My brow furrowed, and it took an act of will not to get up and pace.

"You're worried," she said, feeling my anxiety as acutely as I did.

Ah, the joys of Blót. "Not anymore." I lied with a smile and pulled her frail form up against me.

"What about Freyja?" Cecelia asked, her voice a careful question.

"All in good time." A sinister smile spread across my lips. "Do not worry, my pet. The fun is just beginning."

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**Sorry this chapter took so long guys. Thanks for your patience, and all of your reviews! I hope to be on here more often.**


	15. Chapter 15- Sigyn

Sigyn

Cecelia woke up sore and alone the next morning. She shivered from the lack of Loki's body heat and pulled the covers tighter around her naked body. She sincerely hoped her new husband hadn't decided to murder Freyja while she'd slept, even if her mother deserved retribution.

Another night had been spent enjoying the only perk of her entrapment with Loki. Taking all of their anger and frustration out on one another had had a calming effect on her, not to mention that it'd felt damn near incredible.

It had been fucking, pure and simple. There certainly hadn't been any _love_ behind it, but even so, she couldn't hide a smile at the memory. Loki's personality might not win any awards, but his stamina and agility in bed? Now _that_ would win top honors. Of course, the man had had a thousand years or so to hone his skills.

Her stomach growled angrily, yanking her mind back to the present. She stood on shaky legs, grabbing the first article of clothing she could find to wrap around her. Ironically, it was Loki's cloak. She shook her head and stumbled into the main room of Loki's chambers. No new food or wine had been brought for them. Her stomach grumbled again in protest.

She found her duffel bag and pawed her way through the contents. The rune stones were still tucked away inside, as was the limited amount of money. There was no sign of her clothes.

She managed to discover Loki's bathroom, a sparse though oversized room whose furnishings looked like it'd been encased in gold. When she exited, she glanced around the bedchamber for _something_ she could wear out in public. The only clothing she saw was her wedding gown, the dark green and black fabric lying on the floor in a careless heap. She stifled a sigh of resignation as she picked up the gown.

It took some time, but Cecelia managed to get dressed without help. When she was done, she returned to the bathroom. She groaned as she took in her appearance. Her hair was disheveled, her face slightly reddened from the side that had slept against Loki's hard chest the night before. And her dress… She looked down with a sigh. The dress was a wrinkled mess. She might as well as a giant sign around her neck that said: "Loki's sex kitten." Fantastic.

She considered staying in the room, but her stomach won the unspoken argument. With heavy footsteps, she went to the door of Loki's main chambers and opened it to descend the narrow stairs.

The sun wasn't even halfway to its zenith. Breakfast should still be served in the main hall. Maybe she'd even get a chance to see Jane. The thought made me grin.

Once out in the hallway, the servants literally scrambled to get out of her way. Whether it was the awful state of her outfit or the fact that everyone now knew she was Loki's bedded wife, she didn't know and she _certainly_ wasn't about to ask. She briefly wondered if any of them had heard their "love-making" during the last twenty-four hours and felt her cheeks color.

"M'lady!"

Cecelia smiled. She knew that voice. She turned to see Hali racing toward her. The head seamstress's skirts were clutched in the older woman's weathered hand and her face was flushed from running.

"M'lady! You shouldn't be out!" Hali's eyes were wide with shock.

Cecelia frowned. "I'm sorry?"

Hali sighed and took Cecelia's arm, steering her back to Loki's chambers. "It isn't proper after…" Hali glanced at Cecelia's clothes, her face equal parts fear and embarrassment. "It just isn't done. You and your… husband must remain in his chambers for a full moon cycle."

So, the servants now knew she and Loki were married despite not being invited to the ceremony. Oh, well. If they hadn't gathered that bit of knowledge from her outfit, the rumor was bound to start eventually on its own.

"And now here you are, coming out in your wedding attire." Hali tsked. "The prince should've told you."

Apparently the "prince" should've told her a _lot_ of things. "Where is my husband anyway? Do you know?"

Hali stiffened. "His lordship is in the library."

"Then that's where I'm going." Cecelia pulled her arm away from the other woman as kindly as she could and plastered a smile to her face to put the seamstress at ease. "Is there someone I can talk to about getting breakfast? There's been no food in our room for a day."

Hali's mouth opened and closed soundlessly in silent terror. "It's not my fault, M'lady. I swear! I give you my oath. I only sew. I'm not responsible for the food…"

"I know. I never said it was your fault—"

"I'll go fitch a serving girl to bring you something to your chambers at once." Hali swallowed hard and leaned closer to Cecelia. "Is… is his lordship angry?"

God, the poor woman was _petrified_ of Loki. "No. He's been… busy."

Hali nodded with a slight mischievous grin.

"You wouldn't happen to know where my clothes from Earth went, would you?"

"Odin decreed the scraps be sent to the poor."

Her jaw tightened. "I see."

"It's such a shame, isn't it?" Hali's eyes filled with tears, and for a moment Cecelia thought she was talking about her clothes. But no. "They're saying it was Freyja who did the deed because Odin wouldn't take her to wife after Her Majesty was killed."

A wave of guilt washed over Cecelia as she thought about Freyja being blamed for Odin's death. She wondered what Thor would do now that he was king. Maybe he'd sentence her to death, as Odin had wanted to do to Loki. Knowing her mother, Freyja wouldn't go meekly to her death, not without a fight. They had _that_ in common, at least.

Hali cleared her throat and looked down, her attention on the folds of her skirts. "I can't tell you where to go, M'lady, you being a noble and all. But if I were you, I'd go back to the prince's chambers. You don't want the servants to have reason to gossip."

No, Cecelia thought sarcastically. We wouldn't want _that_.

"I'll have a talking to the servers and get some ale and food brought right up." Hali scampered away before Cecelia could ask where the library was or even say thank you.

It took two more quivering servants and several unnecessary detours before Cecelia found the doors leading to the library. Considering the lateness of the morning, she expected to see quite a few Asgardians inside perusing the shelves, but when she entered the only person she saw was Loki.

He stood next to a shelf near the cold fireplace, his posture relaxed. His shirt was dark gray linen and his pants were black and looked loose on his wiry frame. He looked up from his book with a scowl at being interrupted, but when he saw Cecelia he managed a soft smile.

"Sigyn." His eyes ran over her clothing and he chuckled. "Surely, you didn't leave our bedroom in_ that_. What will the servants say?"

"Damn the servants, and damn you, too." She spat the words at him. "I had nothing else to wear, and I'm starving. Apparently, I was supposed to hole up in your bedroom until another full moon."

He managed to appear chagrinned and replaced his book back on the shelf before coming to her. "I apologize for the lack of communication on my part. It simply did not occur to me to mention our rather strange custom of forcing newlyweds to remain sequestered."

Cecelia's chest heaved with angry breaths. "I don't doubt it. As a matter of fact, I doubt I occur to you at all. Unless you want to have an orgasm, that is."

A full-out grin spread across his chiseled features. "You are beautiful when you're angry, my pet."

She thought about hitting him.

"And thank you for _not_ striking me yet again."

She blinked. Could he read her mind now?

"Violence is written on your face, as easy to read as the writing of this." He held up the slender leather-bound pages in his hand. "A fascinating book that details interesting facts about rune stones." He gestured with his free hand for her to come closer.

Cecelia stepped toward him in spite of herself, the need for food taking a distinct backseat to learning more about magic. "What have you found?"

He pointed to cryptic symbols on the page. "Something very interesting about the sixth rune stone, which is of great importance to me."

She stepped right beside him, close enough to smell last night on his skin. "That symbol looks like a 'v' on its side. I've seen it before when I was studying runes." She leaned in and her breasts brushed his arm, causing him to go very still. "This is the symbol for intuition and health, isn't it?"

"It is also the symbol for cunning and pain." Loki closed the book slowly and placed it back on the shelf. "It is my mark, so I know it well."

"If you know it so well, then why are you researching it?"

"Because I thought it to be lost on Midgard centuries ago."

Cecelia frowned. "It's not on Earth."

He chuckled as he turned fully toward her. "No, my dear wife. It's right here on Asgard."


	16. Chapter 16- Loki

Loki

Cecelia blinked up at me, and I could sense her surprise like a ripple in my mind. "I thought all the stones were on Earth."

"Apparently not." I gestured to the floor-to-ceiling shelves saturated in knowledge that had sat untouched for years. "This used to be Odin's private library, a gift from Frigga from before I was ever born."

She gaped. "There's way too many books here for someone to read in a lifetime." Her eyes filtered up to me in embarrassment as she realized what she'd said. "Well, maybe in a human lifetime. If you have thousands of years to live, I guess it doesn't matter."

I watched her fingers skip over the spines of the nearest line of books, her eyes downcast. Surely the weight of mortality couldn't be the reason for her melancholy. "You will live longer than most mortals because of your bloodline," I said.

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Perhaps you would like to get back to my… " I surpassed a sigh of resignation. "_Our_ chambers?"

"Why should we?" She glanced over her shoulder at me. "It seems silly to be stuck inside a room for a month, doesn't it?"

I opened my mouth to explain how necessary it was as Asgardian females aren't as fertile as human women, then decided not to speak. I'd studied all of the sentient species within the Nine Realms in my formal schooling, including the biology of humans. Our rutting like Alfheim wildebeests in heat for the past two nights was a necessary evil, a failsafe should her role in my schemes be compromised. She couldn't be made aware of that particular scheme yet, of course. She'd know soon enough.

Cecelia moved down the stacks, one hand touching the leather covers while the other held onto the open neck of her gown as if terrified it would be ripped away from her. Watching her filled my core with both desire and loathing in equal measure. I hated feeling this way.

"Come." I held out my hand, and her fingers slipped into my grip. "I'll show you the secret passage."

Her eyes went wide. "There's a secret passage?"

I smiled.

"No wonder you were able to sneak around unseen," she murmured.

I led her to the back, past the cold fireplace, to a single round corner that jutted out from the smooth yellowed stones housing the relatively small library. Frigga had shown me this entrance when I was but a child, and only someone gifted in magic could gain entry to the passage. I opened my palm and allowed my power to collect in the air above until its energy was sufficient enough to flow into the cracks around the stones in front of me. Cecelia observed me, and then opened her marked palm. A wave of white light mingled with my golden hues, and the two enchantments danced together up through the loose stones of the turret. Our energies began to move in perfect sequence until they seeped through the cracks. The stones lurched to reveal the hidden staircase. I ushered Cecelia in first, and when we were both inside the stones slid back to their place. The darkness of the stairwell enveloped us as soon as the turret sealed shut.

"Can you create a flame?" I asked.

I felt the spray of her hair against my bicep as she shook her head. "I tried once, but it was too hard."

"Allow me, then."

A wisp of oxygen from the air, a spoken word, and fire jumped from my palm to light up the space.

She wasn't nearly as impressed as I'd hoped she'd be. She looked around at the smooth stones surrounding us, her face a mixture of awe and intrigue. "Are there more secret passages inside the palace?"

I smiled. "Yes. And in the next few days, I will show you all of them. You'll need that knowledge for part of my plan."

"_Our_ plan," she corrected.

I bit my tongue to avoid lashing at her in a verbal barrage of anger, and she must have felt it, at least in part because she turned and flinched at the look on my face. "You need to trust me."

She _must_ be joking. "I trust no one," I snarled.

Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer. "You think you're the only one who's pissed about this arrangement? I mourned the entire two days before our stupid wedding just _thinking_ about being stuck with you. And while the sex might be damn good, I still have to wake up knowing that I have no control over my life. We're _both_ trapped. Deal with it."

I chuckled, allowing her to vent her anger because soon she'd understand what it meant to be truly trapped. "I _am_ dealing with it." I strode up the winding stones covered in dust. Cecelia followed behind, clearly not happy about my secrets. With the fire in my hand pointed down, I stopped and turned to my new bride. "Can you see the top of the stairwell?"

She squinted up into the darkness. "No. Can you?"

"Yes. Even without this infinitesimal flame, I can see the way ahead. Every narrow step is known to me." I pivoted so she could see my eyes in the firelight. "You want to know the plan, but you lack the ability to see it."

"Because you hide things from me," she said hotly.

"For your good. What we're going to do will cause more deaths than just Odin's, and more chaos than you can imagine. Are you prepared for that?"

I could tell by the shock on her face that she wasn't. She didn't have the heart for what I was about to do, but her part was more important than she realized.

"Cecelia?"

She breathed deeply and hung her head. "I didn't want anyone to die."

I reached out to push back a strand of hair from her face. "But in order to be free, sacrifices must be made. Surely you can see that?"

She glared up at me in defiance. "I'm not killing anyone."

"You won't have to, my pet." I lifted my palm so that Cecelia could see the way in front of us and continued my climb.

"You said your rune stone was here on Asgard," she said. "Where is it?"

"It was placed inside the artifact vault next to the dungeons." The ice in my words chilled the stale air. Of all the runes that existed, mine was the only one deemed by Odin to be too dangerous to hide on Midgard.

We exited the stairwell from a wall inside my sitting room. The warm air of my chambers felt like a furnace compared to the coolness of the passage. I glanced around with a critical eye. When I'd left at dawn, I'd noticed that the servants had refused to replace our decanter with morning ale and our plate with fresh food. Since newlyweds were forced to remain in their marriage beds, the lack of sustenance was far more than sheer neglect. I stole a glimpse at the table, vowing that at least one servant would die tonight for their enmity, and was surprised to find a feast laid out before us.

"Thank God! I'm starving!" Cecelia raced to the table and grabbed a slice of pear, but even with her hunger, she remembered herself. I was pleased to see she didn't eat like a savage. She swallowed the sliver of fruit and reached for the cheese. "How hard will it be to get inside the artifact vault to get your rune?"

"Far too difficult for me. Even with Odin's death, Thor will have guards placed around the items, and I'm denied access to the vault." I strolled to the table and pulled my dagger to spear a sausage. "Thor doesn't fully trust me, though I hope he believes Freyja is guilty of Odin's death."

At the mention of her mother, Cecelia looked pained. "What's going to happen to her?"

I took a bite of the juicy meat and chewed thoughtfully. "Thor is now king. Since you are Freyja's daughter and the only one here in her bloodline, you can go to Thor and plead for mercy on her behalf. Otherwise, she'll be executed for treason."

"And if Thor decides to kill her?"

"Thor does not want blood on his hands so early into his reign. He hasn't the strength for ruling, for understanding what justice _truly_ is." My voice sliced through the air as rage overwhelmed me. I slammed my dagger into the wood, causing Cecelia to jump. "However…" I turned to my new wife who now eyed me warily. "I would like you to plead for Freyja."

She smirked. "Really? I'd have thought you'd love to see her die."

I smiled. "Oh, not yet."

Cecelia pulled off a hunk of soft, steaming bread and took a slow bite. "So, that's your plan? After I eat, I just waltz inside the throne room and talk to Thor?"

I stepped toward her and touched her face, my fingers trailing down the arch of her neck. She loved it when I caressed her in this way. I watched as her eyes closed and her body relaxed before speaking my next subtle orders. "Not quite. First, I'd like for you to pay your mother a visit down in her cell."

She blinked up at me in surprise and her body tensed. "Why?"

"Because she can still be of use to us." I leaned down and kissed Cecelia just below her earlobe, causing her to shudder. "I'm not finished with Freyja."

Or you, I thought, suppressing a grin. Most definitely _not_ you.


	17. Chapter 17- Sigyn

**I hope this chapter and the previous one sits well with my readers. My characters are taking this story to an interesting place. Leave me a message or review and let me know what you think. I welcome comments, suggestions, critiques… the whole lot! :-)**

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Sigyn

When Cecelia walked from the hidden passgeway into the prison level underneath the palace, the guards looked at her only long enough for recognition to set in before lowering their spears and bowing deep at the waist. Several of them addressed her as either "Lady Laufeyson," or "Princess" and one even kneeled. She shook her head as she passed them. Whatever Loki may have done to piss off the servants upstairs, the men guarding the prison seemed to respect her husband from his time under their watch. Or perhaps they simply feared him.

Freyja's cell sat at the end of the hall, with empty pens on either side of her. It was certainly spacious enough, though not nearly as large as Loki's had been. The difference between an Asgardian prince and simple nobility, Cecelia guessed.

When Freyja recognized Cecelia, she stood to her feet so quickly she dropped her tapestry. "Sigyn." Freyja licked her lips and managed an uneasy smile. "My daughter. Are you well?"

Cecelia nodded. "Hello, mother."

"What brings you here?" Freya's narrowed her eyes, and it did nothing to distract from her beauty. "Are you Loki's plaything now, come to do his bidding?"

Cecelia let out a soft snort. "Please. He may be great in the sack, but I hold no loyalty to him."

"No?" Freyja stepped closer to the golden barrier, her lightweight gown moving like gentle blue waves around her lithe frame. "Then why have you come?"

"To find out if you really killed Odin."

Freya shook her head as she lowered her eyes. "I did not." She raised her head and locked eyes with Cecelia. "But you know that, don't you?"

"I don't know what to believe. Loki claims he had nothing to do with it. And he was with me all night, at least when I was awake."

Freyja's eyes widened. "But there were times when you were asleep?"

At the glimmer of hope in her mother's eyes, Cecelia almost lost her resolve. Then she remembered Loki's words. _It was Freyja's idea for us to wed. She is the one who trapped you, not I. _Cecelia met her mother's gaze and nodded solemnly.

"Then you must tell Thor! Plead for mercy on my behalf—"

"I already did!" Cecelia lied. "He doesn't believe me. If I had proof that Loki killed his father, then I'd be free of him!"

"And I would be free of this horror." Freyja mused. She nodded. "Yes, it makes perfect sense now why you have come."

Freyja paced the confinement of her cage. Cecelia watched the beautiful woman, once worshipped as the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility on her home planet glide back and forth in a line of blue silk and troubled expressions. Suddenly, Freyja stopped.

"Loki's rune," Freyja said excitedly.

Cecelia frowned, as if confused. "I don't understand."

Freyja rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't understand, you witless girl. All your kind know of magic is what's been passed down through legend and witch's lore, but here on Asgard magic is a part of our DNA."

Cecelia crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought you knew nothing about magic. That's what you told me."

"I don't know much, but I do know that the power of one's rune stone can be used against them." Freyja pointed to the narrow corridor leading away from the cells deeper into the palace. "Odin once told me that he took Loki's rune mark from Midgard and placed it inside the artifact vault. It's still there. I'm sure of it."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just walk into the vault and steal it with all the guards watching?"

Freyja moved as close to the barrier as she could and bent down. "What if the guards weren't watching?" she whispered.

Cecelia met Freyja's hard stare as her mother wet her lips once more.

"Can you cast a spell that powerful?" Freyja asked.

Cecelia looked uncertain. "Maybe."

"Then, do it!" Her mother hissed. "I can show you how to open the cells once they are unconscious."

Cecelia hesitated, her face a perfect mask of indecision.

"Please!" Freyja pleaded. "I only have one more day before my trial, and I need proof. Thor will never sentence his own brother to death without it."

"Okay." Cecelia took a deep breath. "I know you aren't an enchantress, but I could use whatever ability you have to channel power into my mark."

Freyja nodded gravely. "I will do what I can."

Cecelia closed her eyes and willed her power to surround her as she held out her palms facing up. Through a narrowed eyelid, she watched as her mother focused in on her rune mark and began to whisper a chant in Asgardian. White light shimmered from both women before vanishing down the corridor to the entrance of the cells. Cecelia felt her legs and arms tremble with exertion as she spoke the enchantment Loki had taught her all morning. Her ears picked up the subtle noise of a grunt from a guard, and then the sound of armor hitting stone as one by one the guards fell into an enchanted slumber.

But Cecelia didn't stop with the guards. She powered through the pain to still the other prisoners into a dreamless sleep. By the time silence reigned over the entire prison, Cecelia's body was covered in a sheen of sweat. She wanted nothing more than to pass out herself, but that wasn't an option.

"Quickly." Freyja pointed to the top edge of her cell. "You'll have to use magic to turn it off, and it must be done in perfect sequence to the algorithms of the energy grid."

Oh, was _that_ all? Cecelia sighed and gathered her last reserves of strength to find the pattern in the grid. It took almost a minute, but once she had the algorithm, she forced her magic out in one solid burst. The barrier around Freyja's cell disappeared.

Cecelia gasped with the effort and collapsed on the floor.

"Thank you, daughter." Freyja stepped onto the smooth stones leading to the artifact vault. She looked down at Cecelia. For a brief second Cecelia feared her mother would harm her, maybe even use what magic she had to disguise her and leave Cecelia inside her very own cell to face certain death. But instead of betrayal, Cecelia felt the delicate hands of her mother lifting her from the floor as if she weighed nothing.

"We must be quick," Freyja said over her shoulder as Cecelia struggled to catch up with her mother's long strides. "Your spell will not last long, and one never knows if another guard will come to the prison level."

The women moved quietly through the corridor, past the cells of sleeping prisoners, and to a door at the end of the hallway. Freyja pressed a slender finger to her mouth and bit down. Before Cecelia could ask what her mother was doing, Freyja's had drawn a bloodied mark on a panel in red. A golden light flashed, and the door opened.

"Only pure noble blood can open the vault." Freyja smiled at Cecelia and led the way down the spiral staircase. Cecelia heard the metal door close behind them as they hurried through the dim passage. It reminded her of the secret stairwell from the library that Loki had shown her only hours before. The staircase wound deeper underground until it ended abruptly in front of the largest double doors Cecelia had ever seen. Before Cecelia could ask how they'd be able to get inside the vault, Freyja placed one hand on each door and pushed. The doors yawned open.

The stairs leading down were wide, and Cecelia walked beside her mother as they raced to the bottom. The air smelled faintly musty, dust laced with the passage of time. Somewhere she could hear the faint sound of water dripping against the rocky walls, and Cecelia wondered how close they were to the ocean that surrounded the palace.

Freyja darted past a myriad of colorful glittering Infinity gems housed inside their golden gauntlet. Cecelia followed, glancing briefly at the gems. She knew from both Loki and her own research that the red Infinity gem contained unlimited power. But she remembered Loki's warning and turned away from it.

Freyja continued to march straight ahead. A glowing blue square sat at the far end of their path. Cecelia recognized the Tesseract from her time at S.H.I.E.L.D. The women headed toward it, but at the last minute, Freyja pivoted to the left and headed down a narrow hallway.

Cecelia followed. The artifacts down this hallway were older and far less powerful than the ones that were displayed in the main hall. Freyja walked past the Ring of Gyges that gave its wearer invisibility, past a gigantic tablet of limestone that reminded Cecelia of Stonehenge, and Freyja suddenly halted at a golden necklace.

"Why are we stopping?" Cecelia asked. "We don't have much time!"

Freyja shivered as she studied the necklace. "This is the Brising necklace, a magical artifact made by the dwarves. Gods, I've always loved it." Freyja's hands shook with longing as she reached for the necklace. It shone so brightly with its perfect yellow gold that it twinkled like starlight.

"We can come back for it on our way out," Cecelia whispered. "We have to keep moving, or you'll wind up back inside your cell, and Loki will find a way to kill me and make it look like an accident."

Freyja tore her eyes away from the necklace, and Cecelia pushed her forward until they finally stood in front of a single white stone with Loki's rune mark. In her ignorance Cecelia reached for it, and a burst of magic burned her fingers. She grabbed her singed hand with a yelp of pain.

Freyja glanced over at Cecelia cradling her wounded flesh and shook her head with a scornful laugh. "You can't go through one of Odin's enchantments on a childish whim, Sigyn."

The Asgardian placed her hands a mere inch from the source of the invisible barrier and closed her eyes. She spoke a flowing verse as she focused on the rune stone. The air around them began to hum with power.

While Freyja concentrated on the rune, Cecelia bent down. She feigned scratching a spot on her ankle and carefully pulled out Loki's dagger. With a steady hand, she used the sharp blade to slice her leg. A second later, the blade was back inside its sheath.

Freyja hadn't noticed. The air around the rune stone hummed louder, and Freyja raised her voice to match its timbre. It didn't escape Cecelia's notice that her mother's words contained powerful magic, which meant Freyja had lied about her abilities. Cecelia made a mental note of everything she witnessed. When she and Loki had made their plans this morning, Cecelia had thought for sure that she would have to be the one to use magic in order to break the spell over the rune, but Loki had assured her that Freyja could do it.

The humming around the rune suddenly grew in intensity, and then ceased.

Freyja sighed. She looked exhausted. She reached out for the stone.

"Wait!" Cecelia said.

Freyja frowned and turned to Cecelia, but before her mother could say a word, Cecelia grabbed the stone. Loki's rune wobbled in her hand and dropped to the stone floor.

"Fool!" Freyja spat. "Are you trying to lose it?"

The stone fell precisely where Cecelia wanted it to. As it drifted toward the skirts of her gown, Cecelia slipped it next to the fresh cut on her leg. Her blood, as well as Loki's thanks to Blot, flowed into the rune mark. Even before Cecelia picked it back up to innocently hand it to her mother, she could feel the searing heat of its energy.

Cecelia looked right at her mother. "Svefn." She commanded in the old tongue.

Freyja's eyes widened in shock at her daughter's betrayal. The Asgardian's hands shook as her eyes rolled back into her head. With a groan, Freyja fell on the floor in sleep, dropping Loki's rune stone as she collapsed.

Cecelia smiled. She picked up the stone and placed it against her leg. The power healed her cut instantly, leaving no trace of blood behind as evidence. Cecelia opened the secret pouch under her dress and pulled out an ordinary white stone with one hand while slipping Loki's rune inside the hidden satchel with the other. She felt the power of Loki's rune against her body and couldn't help but be in awe at the complexity of its power. Healing and destruction, wisdom and cunning deception all in one stone. Loki's rune certainly contained his spirit, no doubt about it.

With steady hands, Cecelia placed the ordinary white rock onto the dais that once housed Loki's stone. She whispered the chant that would disguise the rock, and within seconds Loki's mark appeared on the surface. As soon as the stone touched the platform that held it, the magical barrier once again wrapped around the new rock, encasing it within.

The guards would be awake soon. Cecelia could feel it. Grunting, Cecelia dragged Freyja until her mother lay in front of the stand holding the Brising necklace. There were no enchantment keeping the necklace from being stolen, and when Cecelia touched the golden trinket, she realized why. There was no power in it. None at all. This piece of jewelry was simply a pretty bauble, nothing more. Cecelia undid the clasp and placed the necklace around her mother's neck, just as Loki had instructed.

When she was finished, Cecelia ran back the way they'd come, past the Tesseract, down the main stone hallway and through the main doors. Once through, she turned and used one final burst of magic to close the doors before fleeing from the prison level and back to her wedding chambers with Loki's prize nestled against her.

-0-0-0-

**Don't feel **_**too**_** sorry for Freyja. She's always been a witch.**

**As for both Loki and Cecelia's deception, I can promise that by the end, both characters will find their redemption. Stay tuned. Things are about to get interesting….**


	18. Chapter 18- Loki

**Sorry this chapter took me so long, everyone. I appreciate your patience, and Loki appreciates the follows.**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Twilight's Guardian and kykyxstandler, who always look forward to Loki's devious mischief. :-) **

Loki

"And did Freyja try to steal the Brising necklace while you were inside the vault?" I implored Cecelia to tell me the tale of Freyja falling into the trap I'd set just one more time. I hoped I never grew tired of hearing it.

It was late afternoon, and Cecelia was naked, wrapped around my fully-clothed body in a way that wasn't at all unpleasant. She'd come back from her assignment in the artifact vaults breathless and trembling with adrenaline. It had taken a mere whisper of promised pleasure and a slow caress, and her clothes scattered. Now we lay on top of my bed. I, fully clothed, and Cecelia with the top portion of her garment pulled down to her waist.

I felt the laughter in her before it bubbled out. "Oh my God, you should have seen Freyja! She was a like a crack addict. She would've given anything for it."

"Yes, I can believe she would have." I slipped my hand down to Cecelia's breast, causing her to shudder. "Now, tell me again how you managed to get her to release my rune stone?"

Before Cecelia could regale me with the second rendition of her tale, there was a knock on the main door.

"Now, who could that be?" I asked innocently as Cecelia covered up. I'd thought she and I would have more time to relish our victory, but it looked like the Second Act was about to begin. How extraordinary. I hid my smile as I opened the door to a very upset Jane Foster.

"Well," I grinned down at Jane. "I"m surprised you know the way to my chambers."

She ignored me completely and glanced over my shoulder to the bedchamber. "Where's Cecelia?"

"I'm here." Cecelia called out.

I scowled at seeing my wife being summoned by someone other than myself. And she'd taken the time to cover up her marvelous assets as well. Yet another reason to despise Thor's trollop.

Jane ignored me completely and marched right inside, her unwavering gaze on Cecelia. "Your mother tried to escape today. Her trial's has been moved up," she said. "I thought you'd want to know."

Cecelia trudged to the door. She kept her face a mask of upset concern, playing her part beautifully. "When is it? I'd like to be there."

"It starts in five minutes." Jane glared at me and pivoted on her heel. I slammed the door as soon as she crossed the threshold. If I wasn't married, the things I would do to that woman until she _begged_ for mercy.

Cecelia took a deep breath and met my eyes. "I guess it's time."

"Yes." I smiled.

It was going to be a glorious day. I could feel it.

-0-0-0-

By the time I arrived in the throne room with Cecelia on my arm, it was standing room only. Nobles and peasants alike clamored toward the front like an unstoppable tsunami. Freyja was second in worship only to Odin, and over the years she had amassed quite an army of followers, though most of them were commoners. It seemed that all of the peons in Asgard had somehow found a way to appear here today. They gawked and stood on tiptoe, necks arching for even one brief glimpse of their beautiful idol. The stench of their putrid bodies suffocated the very air like a horse market in summer.

As soon as the nobles noticed Cecelia and I enter the throne room, they bowed and stepped aside to give us a place to stand at the right side of the throne. Thor nodded to me, and I reluctantly kneeled and placed my fist upon my heart in deference to his authority. I vowed it would be the last time I did so.

Freyja stood at the base of the throne, looking splendid for all her time in captivity. Her gown was slightly wrinkled, but her face glowed with pride. Enchanted manacles encased her wrists, and the two guards from the doors of the prison stood behind her. The eldest of the two, a family man named Trystan, nodded ever-so-slightly to me as Thor stood to his feet.

With a bang from the All-Father scepter, Thor stared down at Freyja. His face was stern as he spoke. "Freyja, daughter of Njörðr, I charge you with treason."

Nervous murmurs from the lessers in the crowd. Their goddess was in danger of death, after all. Unlike some of the more civilized courts on Midgard, criminals here were deemed guilty until proven innocent. Freyja would have her work cut out for her in order to prove she wasn't Odin's killer, but she wouldn't have whatever proof she needed. I had made sure of that.

"I did not kill Odin." Freya's lovely voice rang throughout the throne room.

Thor didn't even blink. "And yet Heimdall saw you clearly."

Mutters rippled through the populace. Heimdall never saw a false vision. Unless, of course, that vision that been implanted by yours truly. It hadn't been easy, but I'd conjured myself as Freyja so well that Heimdall had never suspected.

"I don't know what the Watcher saw, but it was not me." Freyja glared in my direction, knowing that of all the gods only I was strong enough in magic to pull off such a feat.

Thor's eyes flickered to me. It was hardly more than a glimpse but it was enough for the nobles to turn their heads to stare. I felt Cecelia squeeze my arm, and I patted her hand in reassurance. Don't worry, my pet. All is under control.

Freyja's eyes narrowed at the kind gesture toward my wife. "It was my own treacherous daughter Sigyn who released me from my cell." Freya's voice carried over the hushed crowd without her even having to raise it. A bit of magic on her part, perhaps. She'd always been a devious wench. "Ask any of the guards. They'll tell you she visited me."

The guard Trystan stepped forward and bowed to Thor. "Your majesty, I know not what Freyja is saying. We were on guard the entire time she was below and no one saw Loki's wife enter the prison."

"Lies!" Freyja snapped at the guard.

The guard bowed again and moved back, his part in my little farce complete. He could rest easy tonight knowing that his family would be safe from me.

Freyja's blue eyes grazed her audience until they locked on Cecelia. "Sigyn used magic to free me." She pivoted slowly until the front of her body was turned directly to her audience. Her eyes pleaded for understanding. "Has anyone present ever seen me use enchantments? What magic do I possess?"

Murmurs now grew into outright arguments from the populace for her release, and I couldn't suppress an eye-roll. What in the name of chaos was Thor doing, allowing Freyja to undermine his authority in such an obvious way? She had no solid proof and was using her popularity to enrage her followers. Had I still been seated on the throne, Freyja's bloodied head would be rolling down the aisle toward those precious followers the moment she'd turned her attention away from the throne.

Thor cleared his throat, his voice uncertain. "I hear you, Freyja. And yet no one has seen Sigyn leave Loki's chambers since the first morning after their nuptials, and that was due to her ignorance about our rituals, not to any plotting."

I worked hard to keep my face impassive at the thought of my wife remaining docile under my sheets instead of traveling to do my bidding inside the prison. How I adored those secret passages throughout the palace.

"And yet Sigyn managed to find her way into the prison level." Freyja seemed to appear taller as she spoke, her truthful pleas making her look to all the room like the goddess she was. "She and her new husband tricked me and now work together to destroy both me and Asgard with them. Who else would have anything to gain by Odin's death but Loki? Do you not remember how he played Odin the False for months before he was found out?"

Cries of righteous indignation from the crowd. Thor shifted to face me, and I stepped forward. "If I had wanted to kill Odin in order to gain the throne, wouldn't I have done it the first time?"

Soft ripples of assent greeted that statement.

"Freyja wants to blame me for some grand scheme," I continued, "but ask yourself: am I the type of man to hide behind my wife? If I wanted truly to trap Freyja, I would have done it myself."

"I never would have fallen for your silver tongue, Trickster!" Freyja said.

I grinned. "You've never had the pleasure."

She tried to move toward me, but the guards yanked her back by her chains. She practically screamed in frustration.

Thor sat back on his throne, and I could see the gears working inside his tiny brain. "You and Sigyn are now one, bound together in name and in blood. Wouldn't a wife want to help her own husband?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please." I turned to face the jeering crowd. "My wife despises me unless I'm able to wrestle her beneath the sheets."

All within earshot chuckled at this bit of knowledge, thinking it a grand confession that my own wife hated me. Cecelia turned pink, but was well aware of our farce. She was playing her part to perfection. Even Thor nodded at my comment, knowing as well as I that my reputation in bed proceeded me.

The nobles who knew how I'd scorned Freyja's advances shot knowing smirks in her direction, causing me to smile. Freyja's weakness for wanting to bed me now worked to her disadvantage.

Freyja could sense she was losing the crowd. She glared over at me. "Sigyn said Loki wanted his rune stone. I believe she tried to steal it to help him gain power and to trap me at the same time."

"Freyja," Thor rumbled a warning.

The goddess of love and beauty met his gaze with angry pride.

"Loki's rune remains untouched. But if what you say is true," Thor mused. "If Loki truly wanted power, he would've asked Sigyn to take the infinity stones. The red one, at the very least."

You see? _This_ is why you never attempt the obvious, not if you want to deceive. Besides, it would only be a short time before I had access to all of the Infinity Stones if my plans continued to succeed. I looked as innocent as I could manage as I glanced over at Cecelia. _Well done, my human pet._

Freyja was running out of sound arguments and time. I could sense the populace growing restless for this trial to come to an end. Even Thor was beginning to look bored.

"You can make a potion of Truth," Freyja pleaded to Thor.

"No one convicted of a crime may ingest magic in any form." Thor recited the All-Father law from memory.

Freyja actually got on her knees and begged on the stone steps in one final desperate attempt. "Then make Loki drink it. Please!"

I hid a smile. No potion could make me talk. My magic was far too powerful, and Thor knew it. As adolescents, he and I used to steal the very same truth concoction from Frigga's stores and drink it on a dare. Thor had blurted out every well-kept secret he'd ever had known even as his face turned red with the shame of it whereas I'd laughed at his weakness. The enchantment had never had any ill effects on me, but it had left Thor a babbling idiot and sick to his stomach afterward.

"Believe me, Freyja," Thor said wryly. "A truth potion would not work on one such as Loki."

"What about giving it to his wife?" Freyja cried.

Cecelia predictably paled at the suggestion. She tightened her grip on my arm and glanced up at me in fear. Her magic wasn't strong enough to counter one of Frigga's potions, and we both knew it. Thor watched my wife's face, and I could tell he was considering it.

I glanced over at Freyja and watched her smirk at me. She believed this to be her moment of triumph. I closed my eyes and absorbed her final hope before I tore her world to shreds.

"I'm afraid you can't do that," I said calmly. Everyone in the room was still, straining to hear what Thor would say next.

"Oh?" Thor replied. "And why not? It is a fair suggestion."

I paused dramatically before I spoke. "Because my wife is carrying our child."

The entire hall burst into chaos. It was glorious. The peasants screamed in an angry uproar behind me, clamoring for justice on beautiful Freyja's behalf. I watched Freyja's face fall into utter despair, and smiled knowingly at her. _This is what you get for trapping me, you conniving whore._

I turned my attention to Cecelia. As I suspected, the poor girl had no idea she was pregnant, and the look of horrified shock on her features told me all I needed to know about her desire to bear my children.

"Silence!" Thor stood to his feet and banged the scepter on the stones. When the hall was silent once again, he turned his attention to Cecelia. "Is this true?"

"I… I don't know." Cecelia was trembling now. She glanced over at me, her eyes pleading for it to be a lie, as she took cautious steps away from me.

I closed the gap, moving carefully toward her. When we were almost close enough to touch once again, I halted. She didn't cringe or move away from me at least. I was grateful for that bit of respect on her part.

"It was on our wedding night," I thought for a moment, and then reached out to touch her hand. "Honestly, can human females not sense such things?"

It was a deceit, and one I actually felt a tinge of guilt about as I watched her face. While Asgardian women had the power to feel when they conceived, human females had no such gifts. Their fragile bodies needed at least a month, if not longer, to feel the effects of conception. They'd long ago lost the spiritual ability to feel when life began within them and had to rely on the physical.

Cecelia shook her head, and I knew she was trying not to cry, though whether from the knowledge of the life she held within her or at my betrayal, I couldn't tell. Damn the gods to Hel. It actually _hurt_ me to see her like this. I reached for her then, and her defenses crumpled. She collapsed in my arms and I held her as she began to sob.

"You see?" I used magic to amplify my voice loud enough for the entire hall to hear. "Would a submissive wife who was plotting murder with her husband weep and mourn over bearing his heir?"

The nobles muttered their agreement. No Asgardian woman would cry over a legitimate pregnancy, they knew. It was difficult enough for our kind to get pregnant, and it was a gift no loving wife would scorn. Unless, of course, she hated her husband. And what woman who hated her husband would work with him against her own mother? None. It was all the proof the crowd needed.

"A test will be done to prove the pregnancy," Thor declared. "And if Sigyn is truly pregnant, there can be no potions ingested." He turned to Freyja. "Do you have any real proof to your innocence?"

It was over. As I held my wife, I glanced over at Freyja and saw her shoulders slump in defeat.

"None," she whispered.

"Very well." Thor raised his voice so the gatherers could hear him. "I, Thor Odinson, King of Asgard, hereby sentence Freyja to death by decapitation three days hence."

Her head jerked up, and I felt magic weave through the air to wrap around her. I should've known Freyja wouldn't go willingly to her death. She was never truly versed in the magical arts, but I knew the gift was inside of her. Her daughter was proof enough of that, and whenever Freyja needed to use a bit of magic, she did so. Her enchantment was a deep blue haze encircling her, gathering strength.

Those enlightened peasants close to Freyja began to panic. Desperate to escape her magic, and terrified of being hurt from the fallout, they started to push back, but the sheer size of the bodies behind them prevented the ability to flee.

"If I wanted to kill Odin," Freyja smirked. "Or even _you_, Thor, I could do it far easier than you think!"

Jane screamed as Freyja raised her arms to unleash her magic, but it was no match for mine.

"Thor!" With one hand on Cecelia, I released a blast of shield magic just in time to stop Freyja from sending a jolt directly at my brother. The burst collided just a hair's breadth from him. Thor raised his hammer, and the magic was sent sprawling back to the source. Freya's body couldn't absorb the power of the double blast. She gasped as she grabbed her chest and fell to the floor in a heap.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief and actually smiled over at me. I returned it weakly. Through her eyes, I saw the change that had come over everyone. The throng had seen the goddess they admired almost kill their rightful king while the lying trickster had saved his life with one hand around his disloyal wife. And they had seen it with their own eyes.

I could feel their incredulity turn into belief at the turn of events, and it was glorious. Every one of them had doubted me, and now they were forced to reconsider their faith. Here stood Loki the Hero while their goddess Freyja was a killer and the real monster.

Two guards raced over to Freyja. One placed his hand upon her head, another at her heart, and he closed his eyes to sense if her spirit remained. "Freyja is gone," he declared.

The crowd went mad, whether from grief at Freyja passing or glee at the fact that justice was served, who can say? The masses are so fickle.

"Enough!" Thor slammed his scepter down yet again, and the populace grew still.

Everyone watched as Thor strode to me. My head hung down, as if I was devastated to learn of Freyja's passing. Thor placed a hand on my shoulder. "My brother," he declared. Thor gazed around the throne room. "This is my brother, prince Loki of Asgard and his wife Sigyn. Today, Loki saved my life while Odin's murderer faced justice. Tonight, we feast."

A cheer went up from the crowd, their loyalty to Freyja forgotten. A nobleman who had taunted me as a child suddenly started chanting my name. "Loki! Loki!"

More people took up the chant. Some began to shout "Thor!" and soon both of our names rang out in the throne room, drowning out every sorrow I'd ever felt and every shred of anger I'd tenaciously held onto from my youth.

Thor grinned over at me, and I felt a rush of happiness as I returned the gesture. For the first time in my life, I felt wanted. If I could have bottled this moment and preserved it for all time, I would have.

Who would believe me capable of harming Thor now, after I'd just saved his wretched life? I was a hero in the eyes of the nobles and peasants both, and heroes never betray their family and friends, never covet a throne.

This day had turned out far better than I had planned. Everyone believed me to be infallible.

Everyone but Cecelia.


	19. Chapter 19- Sigyn

Sigyn

Cecelia could feel Loki's triumph as they feasted with Jane, Thor, and the Asgardian nobles. Jovial voices rose and fell over loud guffaws. Nobles who hadn't given either her or Loki the time of day were now clamoring to sit near them, offering Loki the choicest cuts of meat and the first pour of summer wine that seemed to never stop flowing. Large racks of lamb cooked rare were brought to their long table. Fruit of every kind, and some that Cecelia had never seen before, sat in front of her but she was too upset to eat. When a servant girl came up to fill Cecelia's glass with the red wine, Cecelia shook her head and wished away her tears as her hand went involuntarily to her stomach.

Loki sat in the place of honor at Thor's right hand. Cecelia was placed next to her husband. And even though he would study her face occasionally as if trying to discern her thoughts, he spent almost all of his time entertaining the crowd. The nobles around the table ate up Loki's every word and gesture just like faithful dogs lapping up the attention of their master. It was sickening to watch, but at least having Loki as the center of attention meant that he hadn't noticed how extremely pissed she was.

In her wildest imaginations, she never suspected that Loki was purposefully trying to get her pregnant. She was sure he wanted nothing to do with babies and children, and she was equally sure he'd leave the child rearing to her once the baby was born. Maybe they'd even have a wet nurse or something. Was that what nobles did? She seriously doubted that he'd dirty his hands with any duties of fatherhood. Her pregnancy had been a means to an end, nothing more. And while she couldn't have foreseen such an overt deception, she still cursed herself for a fool.

"Not hungry?" Loki actually appeared concerned. She reached out through the bond and was surprised to find she was correct in her discernment.

"No." Thanks to Blot, his consumption of wine was taking a toll on her sobriety. It was odd to feel intoxicated without having drunk a single thing. "Can I get some water?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course." His fingers snapped and a serving boy appeared as if by his own magic. "Water for my wife." Loki smiled. "She's pregnant, you know."

His smile was both joyful and cunning, vindictive and satisfied.

She hated him then.

He frowned, as if sensing her animosity, and took another sip of his wine as he looked away.

"Stop drinking." Cecelia hissed. "I'm already feeling drunk enough as it is."

Loki stared at her for a moment, as if considering her request, then he nodded and placed his glass down. When the servant came with a tall goblet of water, he asked for the same.

Their walk back to Loki's chambers was interspersed with the well wishes of guards and servants. When they arrived back inside, a fire was burning in the heath and a fresh tray of food had been put out on the table. She noticed that the portions were larger now that Loki had announced their joyful news to the world, and she could've screamed. Loki shut the door behind them, and Cecelia turned on him so quickly he took a step back.

"You fucking bastard!" She hit him in the chest.

Loki staggered and laughed, not even making an attempt to block the feeble blow. He must have been drunker than she'd felt. Then, he began to laugh. "My dear Cecelia, what did you think would happen? We mated like your Midgardian rabbits in heat for days…"

She scowled and hit him again. "You could've told me earlier."

"And spoil the surprise?" Loki strolled to the tray of food and took a healthy bite of apple. "No, my dear. It had to be this way. They needed to believe you were disgusted by your pregnancy."

"I am! I don't want to be a mother!"

He tilted his head, regarding her. "Because your own mother gave you away?"

It was like a slap in the face. Cecelia practically staggered to the nearest chair to hold up her own weight. "It's… it's not about my past."

"Every emotion, every decision we make in the present is about the past. Take Thor, for example." Loki put down the apple and stepped toward her, his voice low and ominous. "For centuries I've been forced to walk a step behind him but that will soon be a distant memory."

There was a sadistic glee hidden in that last statement, a bitter foreboding that churned deep inside Cecelia's stomach, but before she could meditate on it, his lips quirked in a smile.

"And as for your pregnancy," he said, "I wouldn't say I planned it outright. But I also knew that particular vulnerability would keep you safe from any harm Freyja or Thor might have planned for you."

She tried to suppress an eye roll but failed. "Is that really your argument for deceiving me? That you were only thinking of me?"

He smirked. "You should be thanking me."

"The only person you care about is yourself."

"As do you. We are similar creatures, you and I." Loki reached out and placed a hand on her lower abdomen. "Though now I dare say that you'll be caring about more than yourself. Two more, to be precise."

Her body went completely still. When she found her voice, it was a faint whisper. "Two?"

Loki grinned. "Didn't I mention it in the throne room, my pet? You're carrying twins."

-0-0-0-

Cecelia waited until Loki was dead asleep before quietly slipping out of their bed. As she pulled on her gown, she watched for any sign that her husband might be feigning slumber, but from his relaxed features and the peace coming through the blood bond, all she felt was deep sleep. She blessed the wine he'd consumed as she softly closed the door to his chambers behind her.

She moved unhindered through the soft glow of torchlights from the palace walls. The dimness hid her fake bravado well as she navigated the corridors. She was hoping to complete her task and get back inside Loki's chambers before anyone saw her, and certainly before Loki realized she was gone. It took almost ten minutes to creep up the golden stairs that led to Thor's master bedchamber. Once she saw the double doors, she cursed her luck. Two heavily armed men stood guard right outside.

They bowed. "Princess Sigyn."

She ignored the "princess" part and closed her eyes to hide her annoyance. "Is Jane here?"

"Yes, my lady."

She hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt Jane and Thor. After all the merrymaking from the feast earlier that evening, who knew what they might be up to? "And Thor? Is he inside as well?" If so, she would just have to find another time to talk to Jane, but she had no idea if she'd ever get a chance like this again.

"No, my lady. Thor is still feasting in the hall."

"May I see my friend, please?"

The guards exchanged a long look but finally stood aside, allowing Cecelia to knock on the heavy Asgardian oak. A second later, she heard a voice calling for her to come in, and she pushed open the door.

"Cecelia." Jane wore a beautiful silk garment that had obviously been meant for Thor's eyes alone, but she came up to Cecelia with a smile as the doors shut. "It's good to see you. I wasn't sure when we'd get a chance to talk again."

At the kindness in Jane's voice, Cecelia burst into tears. She blamed her hormones for the outburst of sudden weakness.

"Are you okay?" Jane led her friend to the chairs next to an open window, but Cecelia shook her head.

"No. Someplace where no one can hear. Please."

Jane frowned but nodded. She led Cecelia around the length of the giant bed and against the far wall. After twists and turns inside the enormous room, Jane pushed open a door that led into a gorgeous bathroom complete with multiple sinks and a deep tub resembling a small pool. Once inside the opulent space, Jane sealed the door closed behind them.

"What's going on, Cecelia? Is it the pregnancy?"

"I didn't know," Cecelia whispered. "God, I'm such an idiot! He's been playing me this whole time…"

"Loki isn't my favorite person either, but after what he did today to save Thor?" Jane shrugged. "Maybe he's not so bad."

Cecelia let loose a bitter laugh, but when she opened her mouth to tell Jane everything that had happened, her words died in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. Nothing.

"Cecelia?"

More tears, this time born from sheer frustration, escaped her eyes. Did the bond prevent her from betraying Loki outright? Or was she so upset that her throat constricted with guilt at the role she'd willingly played in Freyja's death?

"I… I don't think Loki would hurt ever our children," Cecelia said. There. Those words weren't treacherous, and they spilled from her lips with ease.

"Children?" Jane grinned. "You must like him if you'd have more—"

"No, I'm pregnant with twins. Loki told me tonight."

Jane's face was a mask, and Cecelia suddenly wondered if coming here had been a mistake. "Jane?"

Her friend, the only earthly friend she had left, sighed and sank onto the floor. Jane put her head in her hands.

"What did I say?" Cecelia asked.

Jane ran her hands through her hair and looked away. "It's just… I thought that once Thor was ruler of Asgard, he would do whatever he liked. I thought that he and I…" Jane wiped at her eyes. "Thor won't marry me."

"What? Why?"

"He says it's too soon, that he knows I'd be unhappy living here, away from my work." Jane stood up, smoothing out her gown as she spoke. "He's right about my work, but that's not the real reason."

"Which is?"

"That I'm human. I'll be dead in less than a hundred years, and so would any children we'd have, while he'll keep living for thousands more."

"It seems that he should enjoy the time with you while he can."

"That's my argument, but I think he's worried about what will happen if he gives his heart completely over to a human woman." Jane looked down and touched Cecelia's hand. "Blót is something that I thought Thor and I could handle together, the way that you did with Loki, but now I'm not so sure…"

At the sound of the word Blót, Cecelia felt her resolve return. "Jane, I have to tell you something…" She swallowed and thought carefully before she said the words, hoping that they would finally come out. "I think Thor might be in danger."

"From whom?" A cautious smile edged across Jane's face. "Freyja is dead."

Cecelia didn't speak, and Jane's eyes widened in understanding.

"_Loki?"_

Cecelia nodded. She was afraid Jane would laugh it off. Loki was a hero now. But instead Jane's expression turned grave.

"Did Loki kill Odin?"

Cecelia said nothing. She couldn't.

Jane raced toward the bathroom door to open it. "Oh my God, Cecelia! We have to tell Thor…"

"No!" She grabbed Jane's arm in a death vise, causing the scientist to flinch. "Please don't. You have no idea what the blood bond does. I'll die."

Jane looked horrified. "From Loki?"

"Not necessarily." Cecelia let go of Jane's arm and watched as her friend rubbed away the inadvertent pain. She wondered if she was getting physically stronger because of her bond with Loki or due to the fact that his children's DNA was now growing inside her body. "The bond prevents me from betraying him openly, and it could make me hurt myself if something happened to him."

"And to think I was devastated when Thor said we couldn't be married. Maybe I should thank him." Jane shuddered as she studied Cecelia. "What are you going to do?"

As if in answer, Cecelia felt a flutter like tiny butterflies inside her lower abdomen. Cecelia closed her eyes. It was way too early to feel anything in her pregnancy, she knew that much. But then again, Loki's DNA was far from human. The flickering movement inside was a bitter reminder that as much as she resented Loki, their children weren't responsible for his atrocities. They were innocent, and they deserved a chance for a normal life, with a father who may very well love them.

"I'm not sure what I can do yet, but I had to tell someone." Cecelia hugged her friend and whispered in Jane's ear. "Don't tell anyone we talked, but warn Thor somehow. I know you'll think of a way."

"And if he won't listen?"

"Then, it's up to us."

When Cecelia pulled back, she noted that Jane's serious expression mirrored her own. Jane gave Cecelia a nod as she opened the bathroom door. Both women padded to the main entrance of Thor's chambers and said nothing as Cecelia knocked twice for the guards to open the door.

As she waited, Cecelia closed her eyes and said a prayer to any god who might listen that she could find a way out of this mess. She felt the air shift as the doors opened in front of her. She opened her eyes to thank the guards, but the men were gone. Only one man stood waiting patiently in the corridor.

"Why, my dear wife." Loki smiled as he took in Cecelia's shocked expression and Jane's sudden gasp. "Whatever could tear you away from our marriage bed at this late hour?"


	20. Chapter 20- Loki

**Thank you for all the reviews and for your patience as I worked to get this next chapter up. Hope you like it… :-)**

Loki

My wife was up to something.

I could sense it as surely as I could sense an enemy approaching behind me with a blade gripped in his treacherous hand. _Something_ had woken me from my pleasant dreams of victory tonight. It had felt like a sharp throbbing in my skull, a visceral pain that screamed at me to find out what was wrong. And fix it.

Sure enough, Cecelia hadn't been in my chambers when my eyes opened. I'd flown through the darkened halls, snarling at any servant who'd had the misfortune of stepping onto my path. Cecelia must've gone to Thor, I'd surmised. It was the only explanation.

She'd been angry after my deception. I'd felt it in every quiver, every unspoken tinge of spite from her when we'd feasted tonight. She blamed me for everything that had happened: her pregnancy, Odin, even her mother's demise.

I took full responsibility for Odin. Cecelia had known nothing. She'd been naked asleep underneath my sheets when I'd murdered him, after all.

As for her pregnancy and Freyja's downfall? Well, I had a _bit_ of help in bringing about those events, as I'm sure you can appreciate.

Now I stood outside of Thor's new master chambers, the very chambers I had once occupied when I'd sat on _my_ throne. Cecelia mentally quaked in front of me, but her body was steady just inside the threshold. I couldn't read Jane's thoughts, but the wench gazed on me with a tangible fear that she'd always been careful to hide.

Something was amiss.

"You should come back to bed, Cecelia." I tried my best to sound cordial, loving even, but anger seeped into my words. "I was worried. I awoke and found you gone."

Cecelia crossed her arms over her chest in that stubborn posture of hers that I found both utterly infuriating and endearing. She shook her head. "I can't sleep with someone who lies to me."

"Lies?" I stepped toward her, crossing the threshold. Jane galloped backwards until her thighs hit the edge of her bed, but my gaze remained on my wife. "What lies are you referring to, my pet?"

If she'd betrayed me to Jane, I wondered if I would actually harm her. The thought flickered inside my mind, but when my eyes traveled down to her stomach, it vanished as quickly as it had come.

"I never wanted to be pregnant. I had to talk to _someone_ who might understand…" Cecelia glanced over her shoulder at Jane, and the two women exchanged a sorrowful glance.

"You felt the need to discuss your pregnancy in the middle of the night?" My eyebrow arched and quivered, a sure sign of my disbelief.

Cecelia glared. "It's not like you offered me a shoulder to cry on tonight."

She was correct, I had not. My cock to ride on, maybe, but no place for her to weep her displeasure. Honestly, what was done was done. It was time to celebrate our victory, not wallow in the past. Why get so worked up about what could not be changed?

I chose my next words carefully. "In the future," I said. "I would appreciate you speaking to me first."

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Cecelia... come here."

She came to me without the slightest hesitation and when she was within arm's reach, I pulled her to my chest and looked down into her blue eyes. There was no trace of betrayal inside them, no deceit. Interesting. Perhaps I had been wrong about her.

"I apologize for not telling you sooner." There. I'd said what she wanted to hear. My eyes remained locked on her face. "May we go now?"

Cecelia nodded.

"Goodnight, Jane." I barely gave Thor's consort a second glance.

"Goodnight."

Once we were in the corridor, I closed the doors to the King's chambers with a soft burst of magic.

The entire walk back to our bed was suffused with Cecelia's silent tears, and I tried to push down any feelings of remorse that threatened to cling to my heart. I was angered by her weakness, by her sorrow at having my children, but there was a part of me that understood the pain of betrayal far too well.

"I am sorry." The words darted from my lips like pantry roaches scurrying for the safe haven of darkness. "It was wrong to use your body to further my plans."

She halted and gazed up at me in disbelief.

I frowned. "What is it?"

She started laughing, a hollow sound that quickly became light as air. "I never thought I'd hear you apologize to anyone."

"I blame that damned bond." I sneered.

That made her smile. Perhaps all was forgiven then. It had been an insane night, but as far as I was concerned, it wasn't over yet.

We made it through the first door of my chambers, and as soon as I slammed it behind us, I pushed Cecelia up against the nearest wall. Our garments were on the stone floor before she could protest. Lifting her above me easily, I fisted my hands into her hair as I drove into her body. No matter how much I tasted her skin or stayed inside of her, I never felt satiated. The need to possess my wife was a constant ache, and it tormented me like gnawing hunger deep within my bones.

She was a weak point in my armor in every way imaginable, but as I thrust deep inside of her, chasing my own pleasure, I vowed to no longer flame my anger at her. There were far too many others that deserved my wrath. Like the one who sat upon my throne.

I avoided Cecelia while she slept in the next morning, leaving to break my fast early in the hopes that physical distance would drive away the need for her. It didn't. I came back to our bed before she'd even awakened and took her again. Perhaps time would dull this ache, but what if it didn't? The thought that Odin had known exactly what he was doing when he'd bound me to her seeped into my consciousness, and that thought scared the Hel out of me.

After we had our fill of one another, we lay together in silence. I tried to discern her thoughts but failed. They lay deep insider her mind, out of reach from me. I could feel her emotions, however, and they teetered between uncertainty and apprehension. Time to test her loyalties yet again.

"Thor will be nursing a hangover today." I stroked my wife's hair, attuned to any change in her breathing, even the slightest twitch in her limbs, but there was nothing. "That means I have opportunity."

We dressed in silence, together and close enough to touch, but apart in our minds. Something had shifted within her since last night, and I was desperate to find out what it was.

"Cecelia," I said.

She was finishing with her last button when she glanced over at me.

"I'd like to see the artifacts vault, wouldn't you?"

She paled slightly. "I don't want to go back in there."

"There's something I need to see, and I can't go without you accompanying me." I wrapped my arms around her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Can you help me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

I smiled. _No, my dear, you do not._

The corridors were blessedly clear of any nobles after the debauchery of the previous night. The quiet hurry of servants traipsing through the halls were the only signs of life that Cecelia and I saw as we made our way into the throne room. I fully expected to see the usual guards next to the dais, and no one else upon it. The main passage to the vault lay just behind.

You can imagine my surprise at finding Thor seated atop of my throne. I'd come inside the throne room only as a matter of protocol instead of using a secret passage so that any witnesses wouldn't be able to question my intentions when Cecelia and I were discovered by guards near the vault.

"Brother," I smiled and made my way closer to the throne. "I'm surprised you are up so early."

"It is customary to kneel to your king, brother." Thor's voice cracking slightly, either from fear or from the heavy indulgence of drink last night, I knew not which one.

"Yes, it is customary." I went up another step. "But after what happened in the throne room yesterday, I'd thought—"

The guards behind me drew to attention as I approached him, and I turned to see Cecelia giving me a worried look. My gaze darted from her expression to that of Thor.

"Has everyone gone mad?" I asked. "I'm not going to harm you, brother. I came to ask permission to show my new wife the artifact vault."

Thor cleared his throat. "No, Loki. Not today."

"But why? What harm could I possibly do with my pregnant wife and guards by our sides?"

"Heimdall claims the scenes from yesterday were blurred, but he thinks he can recreate them if he spends time in the vault."

"Why would he bother?" I was proud that any and all nervousness was absent from my voice. "Freyja confessed. She tried to kill you, and now she has received justice."

Thor nodded. "Yes, Freyja killed Odin."

So, _that_ secret was safe at least. I glanced over at Cecelia, expecting to see an emotion, any emotion, on her face but it was like Asgardian granite. Unreadable. Unyielding.

"But," Thor continued, "Heimdall is convinced that there was magic at work, and if Freyja could access magic to steal and to kill then anyone could. And while I love you, am even indebted to you, for saving my life, I cannot let you anywhere near the vault. Not now."

I swallowed a curse and managed a smile. "Heimdall could recreate the scene without being physically near the artifacts. If there is something amiss, you may need my magic."

"I may well need your magic in the weeks to come. There are forces gathering in the universe. Forces that wish to gain an item in our vault."

I knew which items _I_ would gather, given the chance. "The Infinity Gems?"

Thor nodded. "Each one has a specific power."

"Yes, I remember the lectures from Father. The red gem controls power, orange controls time, yellow can bend reality…" I knew the yellow one _quite_ well.

"The green gem has power over every soul in the universe," Thor continued. "Blue controls minds, and purple controls space." He looked uneasy, hesitant even. Maybe this wasn't about my rune stone and Odin's death after all. "Brother, who is after the stones?" I asked.

"I do not know, but whoever it is has powerful magic."

And that person wasn't me. The Infinity Gems were far more powerful than the runes, but for someone with my magic, the rune stones would suffice for my plans. In all honesty, I would love to possess all the Infinity Gems. Each one held the power of a god. Combined, you became supreme, a deity so powerful no one could defeat you. While I did lust for power, controlling the entire universe was far too grand, even for me.

And yet…

With a slight bow, I placed Cecelia's hand in the crook of my arm and escorted her back to our chambers where we could talk in private. When the door shut behind us, Cecelia made for the fruit and bread on the table. She observed me as she chewed and swallowed a purple clover berry.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I was thinking about going to earth myself to gather the rune stones, using the map you've so graciously provided. It shouldn't take long. A week perhaps. With Thor busy protecting the Infinity Gems, no one will miss me"

Cecelia looked concerned. "Can't I go with you?"

"In your delicate condition?" I smiled, but at the look of pure anger on my wife's face, my mirth died. So much for ever making light of her pregnancy. "In all honesty, I need you here, my pet. Something is happening, and you are my eyes and ears at court."

The truth was, I wasn't sure which was worse: having Cecelia go with me to Earth and perhaps betray me in my collection of the runes, or having her here on Asgard where I couldn't watch to see if she was, in fact, conspiring with Jane and Thor.

But I had a plan to find out if she was betraying me, hatched as I broke my fast that morning. Magic would be my eyes and ears, not just to watch Cecelia but to spy on the vault as well. I smiled to myself.

"What happens when you have all the runes?" she asked.

"I will return." I slid down to her level so I could look into her eyes when I said my next words. "And if I can't find a way to foil my brother and regain my throne, Asgard will fall."

She didn't even flinch, cementing her loyalty in my mind. "And what happens to our children?" Her voice was tight. "The only thing that's keeping me going is that maybe, just maybe, you actually want to be a father."

I knew she was holding back tears, and under a circumstance without that damn blood bond, I would've simply shrugged off her pain, but by the gods, she meant what she said. "You are worried I will reject our children?"

Tears escaped her eyes then.

I sighed, fighting desperately to hold onto callousness against this onslaught of sadness from her. "I won't reject them. Or you."

I slipped my arms around her. "If anything should happen to me on Midgard, you will have two sons to remember me by."

She stilled. "Sons?"

I smiled. "While I'm gone, I will leave you with some books I've been translating. Perhaps you could pick out their names?"

I knew that would please her. Sure enough, she smiled. "I'd rather have you here with me."

"And I would rather be here as well," I lied. "But I should go while Thor is busy worrying about those Infinity Gems."

She nodded, and for the first time in days I felt her contentment. All anger and trepidation were washed away. "You know, I thought for sure you would want those gems. I mean, they have to be more powerful than the rune stones, right?"

"Oh, yes." I touched her face. "But all I ever wanted was to rule Asgard." The lie poured from my lips. "Ruling the universe? That sounds like a tedious job, even to me."

Cecelia gave me a quizzical look, but I was too taken with my plan to pay attention to it. In hindsight I should have…


	21. Chapter 21- Sigyn

Sigyn

Cecelia had always wanted a family. She'd crafted and honed her daydreams for years, grown from a deep desire for the kind of life she'd never known. She pictured a devoted father to their two beautiful kids, a house in the suburbs with the white picket fence…

Her friends at Columbia University used to sneer at the simplicity of her dreams, but none of them knew what it was like to be an orphan, what it felt like to be unwanted. She'd spent her whole life longing for security, and instead of finding it in the arms of a loving partner, she had found Loki instead.

After her husband's consistent secrets and lies, she no longer trusted him. There was a hollowness inside of her that she knew Loki could feel. The sad part was he had no idea. She _knew_ Loki, maybe better than he knew himself. He'd built defenses around his heart that were so thick it made hers look like child's play in comparison.

But a part of her had wanted to love him. She needed him as he needed her, and because she had _wanted_ to trust him, the fact that he'd trapped her into this life made her feel betrayed. Using her body as part of his personal vendetta had _never_ been part of the deal.

Loki left for Earth soon after their conversation ended, telling Cecelia that Heimdall would be too occupied in the vaults to notice his absence. There had been no sweet kiss goodbye, no murmurs of love exchanged, nor did she expect it from him, but when he left the emptiness filled the space like a silent predator, mocking her in the lonely expanse of his chambers.

She looked down at her expanding stomach with a frown. "Well boys, let's see what book your father left me."

Cecelia trudged to the table where a thick history text was laid open. She was impressed. Over half of it had already been translated from Asgardian symbols into English.

She nibbled on a hunk of sweet bread as she flipped back to the beginning. There was no date for Asgard's founding, no beginning, at least none that Loki had scrawled in the margins. She skimmed the early histories and found the same droll story on every page- war with realms that Odin's forefathers soon conquered, enemies in said realms rising up to gain more independence from Asgard's benevolent rule only to be smashed back into submission.

This was Loki's legacy, and the legacy of their future sons? She shivered.

Some of the stories made her smile though. Loki had translated a brief script on an event that happened when he was only thirteen. He'd saved Odin from being swindled by an unknown builder who had promised to construct a new palace for Odin, all in a matter of weeks and all by himself. In reality, the man had been a spy working for the dark elves with a magical stallion who could change form at will, though Loki was the only one who could sense the horse's magic. Loki figured out how to thwart the builder by taking a mare in heat from the old palace stables. As Loki rode the skittish mare toward the stallion, the male horse had run straight for Loki's mare. The horses raced across the Asgardian plain with Loki holding onto the mare's mane for dear life. Somewhere deep inside the Norn Forest, Loki had been thrown from his horse and knocked unconscious. No one could find Loki for weeks.

Cecelia actually laughed out loud when she'd finished the story. She bet Loki never would've translated that one if he'd known how it had been told on Earth. She remembered the legend from her literature class, which said that Loki had used magic to turn himself into the mare and had actually given birth to an eight-legged foul from the encounter.

She felt something shift in her belly and looked down with a frown. Only a week, and she was already visibly pregnant. She wasn't an expert on pregnancy, but she was pretty damn sure this wasn't normal. Was the magical pairing between herself and Loki simply making the boys grow faster than normal, or was something horribly wrong?

She closed the history book and debated with herself for several long minutes before starting for the stairs. There were several doctors that worked here in the palace. Though she felt no ill effects from her pregnancy, it wouldn't hurt to ask them about her twins. Maybe they had something akin to an ultrasound here and she could actually see them. With a smile, she descended the winding steps and wove her way through the corridors until she stood outside the door to the physician.

She knocked hesitantly. "Hello?"

A woman opened the door with a smile. "Hello." Her gaze fell to her black and green garments. "You must be Sigyn, Loki's wife."

"I am, but call me Cecelia, please" She was grateful that the doctor spoke English. It seemed all of Asgardian nobility could speak it. Maybe they taught it in whatever passed for schools here?

The doctor's eyes trailed down at Cecelia's stomach, taking in her pregnancy with a concerned frowned. "Didn't you just get married?"

Cecelia nodded. "Apparently, I'm pregnant."

"I see that. How far along?"

"Ummm…" Cecelia had to think about it. She'd spent two full days in Loki's chambers right after their wedding, and another couple of days learning where the secret passages were located as they'd plotted Freyja's downfall. "Seven days, maybe eight?"

The physician's eyes widened with incredulity. "Please. Come in."

The doctor, who called herself Gresha, gestured for Cecelia to lay on a sleek tabletop. Cecelia stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, expecting the kind of intrusive experience she usually had in a gynecologist's office, but instead of being poked and prodded in sensitive areas, the doctor simply pressed something on the side of the table. Cecelia gasped as a three-dimensional image appeared above her. Two small babies entwined with one another. When one moved, the one followed. It only took a moment for Cecelia to burst into tears.

"Are you alright, Cecelia?"

Cecelia nodded and bit her lip, embarrassed about the outburst. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. You're carrying twins, and with the amount of pregnancy hormones combined with the rapid growth, I'm surprised you are doing so well."

"Are they really boys?"

The doctor smiled. "They are."

"How old are they?"

"Sixteen weeks gestation."

"_What?"_ Cecelia sat up so fast, she became lightheaded.

Gresha grasped Cecelia's arm and slowly lowered her back onto the table. "Everything looks fine, Cecelia. Please don't worry. But I would like to study their growth for a bit. Would you mind just laying here for a few hours?"

Cecelia wiped away a stray tear and nodded. Above her, the image of her twin sons shifted in the air as Gresha turned the three-dimensional image around. She noticed the doctor taking measurements and writing in Asgardian, but she wasn't sure what the writing meant. After a few minutes, Cecelia closed her eyes and allowed herself to rest.

The dreams came fast, a dizzying wave of images that Cecelia couldn't hope to remember or control. In one, she saw her grown sons battling giants together, one using magic and the other a sword. The one yielding magic looked so much like Loki it made her heart ache. In another dream, she sat eating with the boys as toddlers. One of her sons, the one with black hair like Loki, lobbed a spoonful of porridge at the strawberry blond one, which led to immediate retaliation.

"Vali! Narfi!" Cecelia scolded them, and when the boys glanced up at her with innocent expressions, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Cecelia…"

Cecelia moaned, desperate for the happy dream to return.

"Cecelia. You can wake up now."

Cecelia opened her eyes. For a brief second, she was alarmed at the unfamiliar surroundings, but then she saw Gresha's smiling face and recovered her memory. She sat up with her assistance. "How are my sons?"

"Growing quickly, probably due to the magic in their combined DNA." Gresha shook her head with a light chuckle of disbelief. "I knew Loki had powerful magic, but I never knew how much. The combination of two enchanted DNA strands, along with your human and Loki's Jotun genetics, are causing accelerated growth. Normal Asgardian pregnancies are exactly twelve months in length."

"I see." Cecelia gingerly swung her legs over the edge of the table, worry etched on her features.

Gresha smiled. "Please don't worry. You seem fine. Your children are more than fine, they're thriving. Many Asgardian women would give anything to have such a healthy pregnancy."

"Why don't Asgardians have healthy pregnancies?" One of the nobles at table the night before had mentioned that women in Asgard had difficulty conceiving.

"That's a mystery our technology has yet to solve." The doctor smiled sadly at Cecelia, making her wonder if Gresha had tried to have children at one point but had failed.

"When will they be born?"

"At this rate of growth you only have two more weeks before the big day." Gresha smiled. "Better get ready."

Two weeks. It wasn't nearly enough time. And she would have to prepare for the births alone.

Cecelia left the doctor's office feeling worse about her circumstances, but relieved to know her sons were okay. At least she now knew what to name them, thanks to that dream.

Her first thought was to find Jane, but she hesitated when she remembered her friend's confession the previous night. It seemed everyone around her wanted children but her, and she felt both fortune and frustration in equal measure. Once again, she had no one to turn to. Those thoughts plagued her as she walked back to Loki's chambers. As she turned from the main corridor for the stairway, she felt a strange tremor at the base of the steps.

She frowned. It was some kind of subtle spell, one that someone without magic could've easily missed. She stopped and took a step backward. Nothing. She stepped forward again, and felt the tinge of power vibrate through her. Inside her belly, a baby kicked.

Cecelia closed her eyes as she opened her palm. White light glowed from her hand, and she felt another kick, more powerful this time, but she didn't stop reaching out with her magic. She found the source of the spell quickly, coming from the ceiling. It was a second sight spell, one that she had tried to create herself while still working at S.H.I.E.L.D. to see what the other agents were saying about her, but she hadn't been successful. The only reason to create such a spell was to watch a place you couldn't see with your natural eyes. Cecelia didn't need any magic to figure out who would have put that spell there.

She spent the next six hours walking the palace and found second sight spells in every room and corridor she entered. The spells were especially powerful near Thor's chambers and inside the throne room. Loki had spent quite a bit of time and effort to spy on her, and she felt anger rise from deep inside her chest. Would she ever be free of him?

With a growl of frustration, Cecelia headed up to Loki's chambers, blasting every single one of the sight spells into oblivion as she went. Once inside, she found the entrance to the secret passage that allowed access to almost every room in the palace. She used her magic to open the entrance and reached out with her magic. Sure enough, another sight spell watched from inside the darkness.

She rushed down the stairwell with a lit candle, leaving the door to the passageway wide open behind her. She no longer cared if anyone came in and saw the hidden stairs. It was Loki's fault for not trusting her, and if his special hideaways and passage were discovered, then so be it.

She sensed another second sight in Odin's private library, the place where she and Loki had begun their plans for gaining his rune stone.

She found another sight spell inside her old bedchamber.

Furious with her husband, Cecelia marched from the last passageway down into the dungeons, but the prison level also had the spells, the silent eyes mocking her. She looked right up at one and gave it a stiff middle finger before blasting it with pure magic from the mark on her palm. She hoped Loki was watching everything, and she couldn't care less what the repercussions might be.

She continued her trek through the maze of cells. When she saw the enormous door to the vault open, she went right through. The vault would be the one and only place where Loki _hadn't_ had access to place the spells. In here, she could finally be free of his dominion over her.

Cecelia traveled halfway down the giant steps before she realized something was terribly wrong. She'd been so angry as she'd traveled through the dungeon, she hadn't noticed there had been no guards inside the prison level.

"Heimdall?" Cecelia's voice echoed across the expanse. She had barely met the golden-eyed guardian in her time inside the palace, and she wished she'd paid more attention now that she needed him. "Heimdall, are you down here?"

A gust of cool, moist wind against her cheek was the only reply.

Cecelia shivered and turned to race back up the stairs, but the giant doors slammed right in front of her. She was trapped.

"Going somewhere?" A deep voice rumbled behind her.

Cecelia took a deep breath and slowly turned. A large creature stood at the base of the stairs, his thin lips curled into a sinister smile. His skin was purple with vertical lines running from his fitted helmet all the way down to his gold-plated armor. One of his fisted hands was encased inside a gold gauntlet with empty sockets at the knuckles.

"Who are you?" Cecelia whispered.

The creature grinned. "Didn't Loki tell you? He knew me well during his time with the Chitauri."

At the thought of another secret Loki might've kept from her, Cecelia glared at the male creature. "He doesn't tell me anything," she said bitterly.

"That's good. If he had, I would have to kill you." The creature walked closer to her, causing Cecelia to involuntarily take a step back. Whoever he was, this _thing_ in front of her, he felt wrong, like some kind of powerful evil brought to life. She suddenly wished for Loki's second sight spells. Down here, deep inside the vault, no one would know if she was killed. Tears filled her eyes, and she put a hand reflexively against her stomach.

The creature glanced down. "I see you're pregnant."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Heimdall wasn't any help at all, but you…" The creature walked closer. "You have power. I can _feel_ the magic inside."

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered.

"You have a choice." The creature gestured down the stairs to where the artifacts waited. "You can help me retrieve the Infinity Gems, or you can die."

The agony of her choice ripped through her.

The creature titled his head as he regarded her. "Well?"

"Perhaps," A second male voice called out from behind Cecelia, "You should speak with me instead."

Cecelia whipped around at the sound of the familiar tenor. "Loki?"

Loki smiled down at her from his perch on the top step. "I observed your charming visual message, my pet. Perhaps I can fulfill your sexual appetites later."

"Loki." The creature laughed softly. "Always the crafty one."

"Hello, Thanos." Loki strolled down the stairs until he was next to Cecelia.

Thanos eyed Loki with a malicious grin. "You will pay for your failure on Earth."

"I may have failed to gain Earth, but I promise you, I won't fail now."

Thanos threw back his head and laughed. "You think you can defeat me?"

"No, I don't _think_ I can defeat you." Loki raised a hand holding onto his rune stone and smiled. "I know I can."


	22. Chapter 22- Loki

**Warning- This chapter contains slight spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron.**

Loki

I held up my rune stone as Cecelia quaked beside me on the steps of the vault. Had my wife not had the audacity to give me that crude gesture through my second sight spell and then demolish them all, she would probably be dead at Thanos's feet by now. Then again, I would probably have all twenty-four rune stones and not just the sixteen I'd managed to find from my short stint on Earth.

Yet another reason why the crucible of marriage is an oppressive yoke for men and an obvious boon for women.

Thanos studied us for a moment, those sadistic eyes hesitant, then he threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't the distraction I was hoping for, but I took it. I wrapped my arms around Cecelia and teleported us directly into my bedchamber.

Cecelia collapsed against me as we became solid once again, moaning softly into my shirt. I placed her on the bed as quickly as I could and lifted her chin so she was looking right into my eyes.

"Get Thor," I ordered.

Her head nodded with a fatigued wobble.

I left her there, and with a thought, was back inside the vault facing Thanos once again.

The mad titan gazed at me with a smirk. "I am happy to see you again, Loki."

"Can't say I share the sentiment." I held my rune tightly in one hand while the other still housed the bag holding the other sixteen I'd found on Earth. I mentally calculated my odds of coming out of this battle unscathed, and wished I wasn't so good at mathematics.

"You left before I could punish you for your failings on Earth." Thanos sneered.

I shrugged. "I'd hardly call it a _failing_—"

Thanos attacked before I could finish my statement, lashing out with a gigantic fist. I teleported behind him, placing myself deeper inside the vault. He turned on the stairs with a smile as he faced me.

"Do you know that Death Herself has granted me extra gifts?" He stepped closer.

So, Death was now lavishing him with extra abilities? Fantastic. As if Thanos being a genius with supernatural strength and telekinesis wasn't enough. "And how_ is_ your mistress, Death?" I enquired. "Still roaming the Universe hellbent on its destruction?"

Thanos straightened his posture, his face a furious mask. "I must have the Infinity Gems. All of them."

"They're not here anymore," I replied. "Odin moved them."

"All of the gems are here save two. I can feel their combined power."

My doing, I'm afraid. The Collector gave back the red gem he was protecting. The blue was inside the Tesseract… only the purple space gem and the yellow one were absent from this vault.

"You know," I said, moving further down the steps. "Using trinkets to snare a female doesn't end as well as you might think."

"The gems aren't for _my mistress_, Trickster. I want them for me." The titan cocked his head to the side, and his smile took on a far more sinister cast. "You have your own mistress, it would seem. And she is pregnant."

I glared at him and refused to answer.

Thanos grinned. "Pity she and your unborn children will have to die."

My rage boiled to the surface._ No one_ steals what is rightfully mine!

I channeled the energy from the rune stones and hurled it toward him. Thanos met the onslaught of pure Earth magic with a telekinetic burst of his own magic. The two blasts met between us, white and dark light flashing against the cold stones of the vault. Thanos snarled and pushed with his mind, making his dark magic far stronger. Had I not harbored a deep-seeded hatred for Thanos's torture under the Chitauri, I would almost admire the titan. We were similar creatures, he and I, both thirsty for power.

But Thanos had an air of desperation about him, and desperate men make mistakes. I was counting on that because if he didn't, I would more than likely die upon these miserable rocks deep beneath the very throne I coveted.

"You are tiring," I taunted Thanos.

He chuckled. "You amuse me, Asgardian."

"Didn't anyone tell you? I'm not Asgardian."

Another blast from the stones leapt from my hand, and Thanos stumbled.

"Why is my magic not more powerful than yours?" He growled as he loomed over me.

I smirked. The runes were already proving themselves invaluable. "My magic gets its power directly from the written staves, not from a random pulse somewhere in the universe."

He attacked me with a jolt that actually seared my heart. I gasped and fell on the hard earth, using the stones beneath me to create a shield just in time. Another burst hit the barrier I'd just created, but thankfully, it didn't penetrate it. At least, not yet.

"You want the gems." I bit out the words as I gained my footing. Feigning a limp, I dropped a rune from my bag on the floor as I stumbled backwards. "I managed to bribe the Collector to gain the red one back."

He titled his head. "Are you trading the red infinity gem for your miserable life?"

"I thought you prized the blue one housed inside the Tesseract." Another stone fell from my grasp as I walked closer to the Tesseract.

"The Tesseract is nothing without the power of the mind stone."

I dropped another stone. "Which, I've heard, is buried deep inside the forehead of some artificial creation that calls himself Vision." I couldn't help but smile.

"I will _crush_ this 'Vision,' as you could never crush those so-called heroes of Earth!"

"You can try." Another stone was placed around the Tesseract. I was counting on the energy inside each one to shield me inside where the Terreract was kept.

A loud bang sounded behind Thanos. The titan pivoted to see Thor and his warriors standing right inside the doorway to the vault.

"Nice to see you, brother." I smiled over at him as I dropped the final stone. "As you can see, I could use some help."

Thor roared as he raced toward Thanos. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes at his dramatic attack. Sif and Volstagg darted to the right while Fandral and Hogun snuck around to the left of Thanos. Each had a weapon in hand, ready to create the perfect distraction.

I yanked out my dagger and sliced into my hand, dripping blood onto my rune. "Fela," I whispered.

And the Tesseract vanished.

No one noticed, of course. Least of all Thor, who was too busy throwing his magic hammer around and screaming like a wild Vanaheim boar. I kicked away the rune stones from where I'd placed them around the Tesseract, vowing to come back for them later, and ducked back into the fight. Thanos was wearing down. This was good in that it meant he probably wouldn't have the strength to haul me away to the edge of the known universe and torture me for centuries on end. But it was bad in that it meant I was running out of time.

The bag of earth runes was still next to the stand for the Tesseract, and it was evidence to my guilt if any of the imbeciles here understood their combined power. I hurled a bolt of dark energy toward Thanos, and he growled as he turned. Thanos lifted a hand and I waited for the inevitable onslaught of his power to knock me backward toward the runes.

It never came. I watched in horror as Thanos vanished from the vault, leaving the air in sudden stillness.

I dropped to my knees and gasped. If I couldn't use battle to distract from my true intentions, perhaps faking injury would work.

"Loki." Thor came up to me and placed a concerned hand on my shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

I smiled up at him. In my peripheral vision, I saw Sif scowl and the Warriors Three stare at me with suspicion in their eyes. So much for all the goodwill I'd gathered in saving Thor's miserable life.

"Yes, I think so."

"What are you doing inside the vault?"

"My wife was here."

I heard a scoff of biting laughter from Fandral. "And what would a human want with these artifacts?" he asked.

"I don't know, you bleating goat." My words were a blade. "I just know she was down here."

"Where's Heimdall?" If asked.

"I don't know," I replied.

Thor, Sif, and the Worrysome Three moved past me. I watched them turn the corner to where my rune had been kept, the place where Heimdall had been trying to piece together the events of how Freyja had managed to steal it. As soon as the five Asgardians were out of sight, I ducked to the bag that held my treasures. The runes I'd scattered around the vault wouldn't be as easy to find, and I had minimal time. I found three, and scooped them up into the bag. My eyes scanned the vault for more, but the footsteps of Thor and his band of morons were coming back. I cursed and closed my eyes, sending the bag back into my chambers. I prayed Cecelia would find it and hide it away for me.

I stood on wobbly feet as Thor returned, looking for all the realms as if Thanos had whipped me into submission.

Thor stared right past me. "Where is the Tesseract?"

"What?" I turned and stared at the empty platform. "I… I don't know. It was just here."

I almost laughed aloud. Nothing had happened to the Tesseract. I'd simply shielded it with an invisibility spell. It should hold, provided no one came through and actually tried to touch the empty surface of the platform on which it sat.

"Thanos." Hogan grunted. "If he has taken the Tesseract…"

Thor frowned. "He never laid hands on it."

"With his magic, I doubt he would need to," I pointed out. As an afterthought I asked, "Where is Heimdall?"

"Injured but alive," Thor said. "I have called for our healers. When he awakens, perhaps he can give us some insight as to what happened."

"Thanos came here for the Infinity Gems," I said. "He told me himself before we battled. Heimdall is lucky to be alive at all."

Thor held out a solid hand, which I took, though I had to bite back a sneer. Brothers to the last. It was all I could do not to slap his help away, but I had to play out my part of the wounded soldier in its entirety.

"Come, Loki. We can discuss the events of today in the throne room."

I nodded. "Of course."

Thor and I led the way. I could feel the narrowed eyes of Thor's friends and confidantes behind me, but I didn't pay any heed to them. All I cared about were those stones. If Cecelia remained faithful, they would prove invaluable in the days ahead. Thor could wax on forever about Thanos and his theories on universal domination, and he'd never realize that the real enemy stood right beside him, waiting for the perfect time to make his move.

**Sorry it's been so long in posting. I actually had most of it written, and the Scrivener ate the file! Hopefully, you enjoy where the story is going so far. Here's hoping that work won't take up too much of my time, and I can get the next chapter up quickly.**

**Cheers! :-)**


	23. Chapter 23- Sigyn

**Greetings, followers and new readers alike! I want to apologize for the time between posts. It's been crazy busy. As always, thanks for your reviews and comments. I love hearing from everyone! :-)**

Sigyn

It took Cecelia a while before she felt strong enough to stand. The dizziness was overwhelming, and almost caused her to collapse back on Loki's bed once again, but after a few minutes she found her feet and stumbled out of Loki's chambers to get Thor. She fought nausea the entire way down the staircase, through the hallways, and down into the entrance of the throne room.

Thor stood at the base of his throne, with his Warrior's Three waiting patiently near him. Thor was speaking in soft murmurs to Jane. Jane bit her lips and nodded to him, but as soon as Cecelia struggled to the throne, everyone glanced in her direction. One look, and they knew something was wrong.

Jane raced to Cecelia just before her legs gave out. "Oh my God! Cecelia, are you okay?"

"Loki… vault… Thanos wants Infinity Gems." Cecelia hoped she was making sense.

Thor grabbed his hammer. "Guards! Get Jane to the Bifrost now."

"What? I'm not leaving yet!" Jane stood her ground, and Cecelia admired her for it, though if Jane had looked into Thanos's eyes the way Cecelia had, she might just run straight to the Bifrost and not look back.

"Jane, please. I don't want anything to happen to you." Thor's eyes were a plea.

Four guards manned the throne room, and two of them whisked Jane away before Cecelia could say two words in farewell. She wondered if she'd ever see her friend again.

Thor and his warriors raced for the vault. Cecelia watched them go, her stomach knotted with nausea and fear. What if she hadn't gotten to Thor in time and Loki was dead? Only a small part of her felt relieved at the thought of finally being free of him. Most of her emotions were mixed, a jumble of worry and… affection, maybe? She shook her head. Loki had done nothing but ruin her life.

Yet if he died inside that vault it was because he'd saved her and their unborn children. The truth was that every time she needed help he seemed to always be there for her. If she were to only judge him solely by his actions, Loki would've ranked as about average for husband material, but once she weighed in his selfish intentions, the man was a total ass. A master of manipulating people. Her, Thor, everyone. So, why did she care about him now?

Her stomach clenched again, and Cecelia tried not to heave all over the golden stones of the throne room.

"M'lady?" One of the guards, Grindor she remembered, leaned down with a concerned expression on his dark features. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not sure…" All Cecelia wanted was find a soft bed and lie down. She closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning and moaned.

Grindor caught her in his strong arms as she fell from her knees unto the floor. "Lady Sigyn? Are you in labor?"

Labor? Good God! She started laughing at the absurdity of it all.

The second guard exchanged a nervous glance with Grindor as Cecelia's laughter filled the throne room. She took a deep breath to fill her lungs and felt light-headed. Her face hit the smooth surface of the floor. The cold stones were a comfort.

"M'lady!"

She heard Grindor's voice but it sounded far away. She heard the hasty footsteps of several servants rushing to her side just before the world grew dark.

"Cecelia."

Her eyes fluttered open. She lay on some kind of raised platform. It brought back a vague memory that Cecelia lost as soon as it grazed the surface of her mind.

Loki stood over her in the unfamiliar room, his face a mask.

"Loki!" She sat up and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.

Loki stiffened, but Cecelia felt him reluctantly return her affection.

"Are you okay?" She pulled away to study his face. "What happened?"

Her husband looked pleased at her question. "Thanos is gone. You did well, my pet."

His answer made her feel both relieved and frightened at the same time. She looked around her at the tall white columns of the indoor room. "Where am I?"

"A private room inside what you might call an… infirmary? Perhaps that's not the correct term." He raised a hand over her stomach. Murmuring under his breath, his palm traced a line across her torso. "Our sons are doing well."

"Glad to hear it."

He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and his kind expression made her heart ache. Then, it suddenly disappeared from his face.

"Thank you for fainting outside of the throne room, my pet. Because of it, I was called to your side instead of having to deal with my idiot of a brother."

"You're welcome," Cecelia said dryly.

Loki laughed softly. "Were you really that angry about my sight spells?"

She swung her legs gingerly over the table, wanting for all the gold in Asgard to slap that smirk off his face. As soon as she was upright, however, the dizziness became too much. She groaned and fell back, but before her scalp could smack into the hard surface behind her, Loki caught her in one strong hand. He set her down gently.

"Thank you," she whispered.

His face continued to show concern.

She frowned. This sort of compassion wasn't like him at all. "Loki?"

"The doctors mentioned that our sons are growing far faster than they should be."

"They told me that, too. Any idea why?"

"Magic, perhaps. Asgardian men and women have sometimes mated with humans, but this is the first recorded instance of children growing at this rate in utero. The medical staff are fascinated. I've heard them whispering behind my back, speaking in hushed tones that my offspring are different, cursed perhaps." His words were bitter, seething with rage.

Cecelia forced herself to reach out and touch his hand. "Loki?"

He jerked his hand away, his face full of surprise at her tenderness. Cecelia didn't know if he simply wasn't used to anyone caring about him or if he hated it when someone responded to his weakness, even if the response was one of tenderness. But she reached out again, her fingers curling around his hand. He froze for a moment, and then, very slowly, allowed his hand to hold hers.

They didn't speak as a doctor came in to check on Cecelia and the twins. After a few minutes of examining the images, the doctor gave a satisfied nod and left them alone again.

"I am pleased your human body is capable of nurturing my children," Loki said, as if Cecelia were merely an incubator, not a person. "I wasn't sure it was possible."

She was so stunned by his callous remark, it took her a few minutes to speak. "They're my children, too." She finally said.

Loki nodded absently. "And once Thor is no longer on the throne, I will rule. And after me, my children." He smiled down at her, and in that smile, Cecelia saw the same Loki she'd grown to understand in the last few months, a vengeful god who only cared about himself.

"Is that throne the only thing you care about?" she whispered.

His mouth parted in surprise, and his eyes softened as they studied her. But then, the tenderness vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "What did you expect, my dear?" He stepped closer to her platform. "Love? Happily ever after? I warned you on our wedding night not to mistake me for a prince from one of your fairytales."

"And the rune stones you were so anxious to get your hands on?" Cecelia glared up at him. "Did you get all of them, or can I look forward to another block of being spied inside this lonely palace?"

Loki smiled. "Thanks to your meddling with my spells, I could only find sixteen stones, but we have the four from S.H.E.I.L.D. I'd prefer all twenty-four, but it may be enough."

"Do you love _anything_ except yourself?"

She expected him to lash out in anger, but instead his eyes watched the image of the twins inside of her with lazed-like intensity. His fingers trailed from Cecelia's hand up her arm and down to her stomach, and his face reflected inner turmoil.

"Loki? Sigyn?"

Thor cleared his throat as he approached Cecelia's platform. She attempted to sit up in greeting, but Loki placed a firm hand on her shoulder, keeping her down.

Thor's gaze skimmed Cecelia before turning to Loki. "I've informed S.H.I.E.L.D. of the loss of the Tesseract."

"So soon?" Loki arched an eyebrow.

"It seemed necessary. I also warned them that Thanos may approach their world."

Cecelia watched the two brothers, one fighting for dominance, the other fighting for the security of the Nine Realms. "Thor, is Jane coming back?"

"Not until it's safe. If Thanos desires the Infinity Gems, he will return." Thor turned to Loki. "Brother, may we speak privately?"

"Not now."

Thor didn't seem to notice the dismissal in Loki's tone. "I am glad we could talk briefly after we dispatched Thanos, but we need a strategy for his return. Especially if he has the Tesseract."

Cecelia's eyes widened. "Thanos stole the Tesseract?"

"Thor nodded. "He did."

Cecelia glanced at Loki for confirmation, but her husband's face remained impassive. That was her first clue that something wasn't right. She knew Loki, and he'd be furious if that piece of powerful magic was now beyond his grasp.

"Brother," Loki cleared his throat. "I know it is bad timing, but may I have your permission to return to Earth once more."

"Whatever for?"

"There are personal matters I must attend to. My wife is being hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D, and I am trying to set things to rights. Aren't I, my pet?" Loki smiled over at Cecelia, and she just barely held her tongue.

"No, I need you here." Thor walked to the door. When he reached the threshold, he looked over his shoulder at Loki. His voice was tense with anger. "Loki, I order you to join me in the throne room once you and your wife are finished conversing. As of right now, the Bifrost is closed."


End file.
